The Viral Guardian Series
by Stellar Raven
Summary: One of the most bizarre self-insertion fics ever written. The main cast belongs to Mainframe Entertainment. Kit Maxel, Backslash Interface, Electra Prompt, TimeSprite and Chu belong to themselves. Everyone else is mine.
1. Megaframe

(Author's Note) This story has taken several years to come as far as it has, and my writing style has evolved a good deal over that time. When I first started this fic, I was more or less just testing my wings, just trying to see if I could. The first two chapters are rather poorly written, and they have little to no plot to speak of. The only reason I haven't completely scrapped and re-written them is for posterity's sake. So to any new readers, I make the following suggestion: Start at Chapter 3, where it starts to get good, and then, if you must, come back and read the first two chapters. I say this because I really don't want people reading a single chapter, saying something along the lines of "This sucks", and ignoring the rest of the story, which, I feel, has come out rather well. That said, I present to you, In all it's Viral glory:  
  
The Viral Guardian Series  
  
by Jareth, The Viral Guardian  
  
Chapter One: Megaframe  
  
It was a dark, dark time in Mainframe. Megabyte had just taken over, and driven Dot Matrix and her small band of rebels into hiding. He had begun infecting the city, sector by sector. Binomes scurried away in terror, only to be rounded up by the ABC's that were soaring around the city.  
  
From his standpoint atop one of the towers of the Gilded Gate Bridge, Jareth watched the ensuing chaos. A part of him wanted to help the city, another wanted to simply remain where he was and watch the mayhem spread. Unable to decide, he brushed back an errant strand of black hair that had somehow escaped from his ponytail. Without even realizing it, he switched masks, from his Happy mask to his Deep-In-Thought mask. What to do, what to do?  
  
Suddenly, the decision was made for him. A stray ABC had spotted him. Viral or not, Jareth was a Guardian, and his brother Megabyte didn't care for him. The matter decided, Jareth quickly went into Viral mode.  
  
His mask switched back to Happy. "Hello, Mr. ABC," he said, "Do you want to play with me?"  
  
"This is now Megaframe," the ABC bellowed over it's loudspeaker. "Surrender you PID or be deleted."  
  
Jareth removed the Icon from the claw horn in the center of his chest plate. He held it daintily with two fingers, looking at it intently. "But I like my PID. It looks good on me," His mask switched to a more mischievous face. "What do you want it for anyway? You've got your own."  
  
In response, the ABC fired, destroying the support tower he was sitting on. Jareth leapt clear, pulling a zip board out of his seemingly bottomless coat and coasting up to the ABC's window. ""That was fun. Is it my turn now?"  
  
The ABC paused as the Viral binomes conferred. It was apparently still their turn. The ABC attempted to raise it's cannon to target Jareth. In response, Jareth pulled his zip board out from underneath him and stuffed it into the ABC's cannon. Jareth, no longer having anything to stand on, morphed his coat into a pair of ebony angel wings. He flew circles around the inept virals, laughing hysterically as the attempted to draw a bead on him. Much more of this, Jareth thought, and it's turret will unscrew. But surely there were more enjoyable ways to play with this thing. Jareth suddenly stopped, hovering still, just begging to be deleted. The ABC spun around a few more times, not realizing that Jareth had stopped. Finally, noticing that their target was no longer moving, the Virals targeted Jareth. The Viral manning the gunner's post grinned and leaned forward, leering into the view scope. His fingers twitched on the controls, just a few more nanos, and this sprite would be history. The Gunner pressed the trigger and... The ABC quickly sent itself to the recycle bin.  
  
Jareth hovered in the air, watching what remained of the ruined ABC plummet into the turbulent waters of the energy sea below. When the last piece of wreckage had been extinguished, his mask switched back to his contemplative face. He hovered in midair, turning his head back to look at the invaded city.  
  
"Now, what to do..."  
  
* * *  
  
Inside the recently corrupted principle office, Megabyte glanced around what was his new home. A truly malicious grin spread across his face. It was his. Mainframe was finally his! The entire system was at his disposal, and User, was he ever going to dispose of it. After his new office was assembled, Megabyte walked to the P.O.'s Lab, which he had given to Phong.  
  
"Greetings, Phong," he said as he entered the room and the doors closed behind him. "I trust everything is going well."  
  
"Yes, indeed, Megabyte," the short, robotic sprite replied. "See for yourself." The elderly sprite punched a button on the control panel and called up a vidwindow displaying a record of all the PID's which had been collected thus far. It also displayed the locations of PID's that had not yet been infected. Since all the PID's were registered online with the Principle Office, they could all be tracked by the system.  
  
Nearly all the PID's in the system had been accounted for. The only few missing were those of Dot's band of rebels, and one PID that kept wandering aimlessly around the system.  
  
"That one," said Megabyte, pointing to the meandering PID. "What is that?"  
  
"We dp not know, Megabyte. It doesn't seem to demonstrate any regular purpose. One minute it destroys an ABC that is attacking an uninfected binome, the next it attacks one of Dot's CPU's it's just totally--"  
  
"Random," Megabyte sneered.  
  
"Precisely. But Hexadecimal has not been seen since she destroyed the Tor. And, as a virus, Hexadecimal doesn't have a PID anyway. I do not know--"  
  
"Worry not, Phong. I shall deal with the matter personally. You just concentrate on the remaining PID's"  
  
"Yes, Megabyte."  
  
Megabyte left the Lab, a grimace on his already unpleasant face. He hated anything he couldn't keep under his thumb. And his brother was NOT something he could keep under his thumb. Jareth, in addition to being a Chaos Virus, was also a Guardian. If that wasn't a conflict of interest, Megabyte didn't know what was.  
  
* * *  
  
"Honey, I'm ho-oome!" Jareth yelled as he swooped in through the window of Hexadecimal's Lair. "Hex?" He called, not having gotten a response. "Oh, Hexadecimal?" Jareth looked around the shadowy interior of the Lair, looking for any trace of his sister. Finally, he saw a pair of glowing green eyes peering out of the shadows. "Hex?" a note of concern crept into his voice. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"  
  
"No Jareth... I'm afraid I'm not." Hexadecimal stepped from the shadows.  
  
"I'm glad you're back, Hex. I--" Jareth's train of thought stopped dead upon seeing her mask. "Hex... What happened to you?"  
  
Hexadecimal's mask was covered in a network of tiny cracks. Just below her left eye was a large fissure, as if someone had given her a solid whack with a chisel. On top of that, her outfit had changed. Instead of the seven crown points that normally adorned her head, she now had a set of swept- back, snakelike projections jutting out. Her armor, normally red, was no more black than anything else. She looked completely different. But the look in her eyes was the same old Hex.  
  
"Megabyte happened to me."  
  
"Does it hurt?"  
  
"Oh, yeeess... It hurts. It hurts allot. Megabyte... He... trapped me."  
  
"He trapped you? How did he--"  
  
"A control collar." As she spoke, Hex went from a flat, monotone voice to one seething with rage, though her mask didn't change. "He slapped a control collar on me. He made me do things for him. He... he controlled me!! He made me do whatever he wanted!"  
  
Hex was really shaken, Jareth could tell. He was much closer to Hex than Megabyte. In fact, Hex was his only friend, and he was probably Hex's. Hexadecimal was terrified, probably for the first time in her life. As a chaos virus, one rarely has to worry about anything. And to be taken from that and forced to serve someone else... Well, Jareth could certainly see where she was coming from. As he thought about this, Jareth started to grow furious. His sister meant the world to him. When she was around, that was the time that his conflicting programming didn't make his head start to split. Just by being there, she made everything seem right. But to see her like this...  
  
"Don't worry about it, Hex. I'll deal with Megabyte. Just wait here."  
  
Without another word, Jareth flew out the same window he had come in. Hexadecimal watched him leave, then sat back down in the shadows.  
  
* * *  
  
Megabyte cruised the city, searching for his brother. The tracking system wasn't much good, since Jareth kept moving around. Megabyte couldn't let a corrupted virus stay here in HIS system. It was bad enough Jareth was chaotic like Hexadecimal, but a Guardian as well! He had to be deleted. Megabyte would be doing the entire Net a favor by deleting the worthless half-breed.  
  
"Faster," he ordered to the binome driving his ABC. Megabyte was perched atop the vehicle like a cat, just waiting for Jareth to show himself. He blinked once, twice, turning his green-and-red eyes black and greatly enhancing his vision. Through his Viral eyes, Megabyte could see things at a distance up to a sector away.  
  
They don't, however, enable you to see behind you.  
  
Jareth, flying straight as an arrow, plowed into Megabyte, knocking him off of his ABC and sending him plummeting to the ground below. Megabyte hit the ground hard. For a nano, he regretted that Hack and Slash were no longer around to catch him. Megabyte peeled himself off of the ground and found himself facing a very angry Viral Guardian.  
  
"Why, Jareth," he said, "I was just coming to delete you. I was having a little trouble finding you, though. How nice of you to save me the trouble."  
  
"You're dog food, Megabyte. I'm gonna rip you limb from limb and feed you to Frisket."  
  
Megabyte laughed.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"Oh, you missed that, didn't you? That dog is gone... along with that pesky young boy and that double- crossing Hacker. They lost in a game minutes ago. Where have you been?"  
  
"I've been taking care of Lost Angles. You see, Hex wasn't there."  
  
"Of course. Hex was with me. I... looked after her for a few cycles."  
  
"Looked after her? You used her. I haven't seen her like this since that time Bob removed her mask."  
  
"Yes... I remember that. You should have deleted him when he did that... But your programming wouldn't let you, would it?" Jareth didn't have an answer for that.  
  
"Yes... You're nothing but a half-breed. You can never be a real virus, or a real Guardian. You can't even delete a binome without your programming interfering. I'll wager you can't delete me either."  
  
Jareth had an answer for that, He blasted Megabyte into the wall of the nearest building. "I wouldn't be so sure of that, Megabyte. Neither one of my codes has any problems with fighting a virus."  
  
Megabyte staggered to his feet. "I have had enough of you, Viral Guardian. You will not cause any more problems in MY city." With a metal-against-metal scraping sound, Megabyte unsheathed his golden claws. With a feral growl, he lunged at Jareth.  
  
Jareth, in response, fired off another blast. It hit Megabyte square in the chest. Megabyte landed flat on his ASCII. He looked up and saw Jareth advancing on him. Jareth switched to his Evil grin mask. "Hmmm... I don't believe you've met my little toy. Shark, this is Megabyte. Megabyte... Shark." Jareth rolled up his sleeve, revealing a Guardian's Keytool.  
  
Megabyte's eyes widened at the sight of the small box shaped object. "A Keytool? A Guardian's Keytool? Where in the Net did you get that?"  
  
"It doesn't matter at this point, Megabyte. All that matters now is which end of it you're on. Shark-- Pulser Cannon!" Shark beeped, then began to change, transforming from a small box to a small energy cannon. Jareth aimed it right at Megabyte's head. "You, Megabyte... Are on the wrong end."  
  
To Be Continued... 


	2. The Battle For Lost Angles

The Viral Guardian Series  
  
by Jareth, The Viral Guardian  
  
Chapter Two: The Battle For Lost Angles  
  
Jareth slowly advanced on Megabyte, his keytool. He switched to his evil grin mask as he walked across the alley, closing the space between them. Megabyte was afraid. It took him a while to realize that he was used to being intimidated. He had been planning to simply delete Jareth, but it seemed that Jareth was a bit tougher than he had realized. Megabyte was out of cards to play. His claws were useless; he couldn't get close enough to use them. But, maybe... Megabyte caught sight of something moving behind Jareth.  
  
Jareth kept walking forward, oblivious to the motion behind him. He was totally focused on finishing Megabyte off. It wasn't until he heard the sound of an energy weapon powering up that he realized what was going on. Jareth spun around, flinching when he saw the cannon aimed at his head. He had just enough time to erect a partial energy shield around himself before the ABC fired.  
  
"AAAUUGH!" Jareth clutched his mask and screamed, partly in pain and partly in anger.  
  
Megabyte quickly took advantage of Jareth's lapse of concentration. He grabbed Jareth and threw him across the alley, slamming him into the wall. Jareth shook his head, trying to clear it. How could he have been so basic? Of course... Megabyte had been riding on the ABC when Jareth first attacked him. It'd been looking for him the whole time Jareth was fighting him. Why hadn't he just deleted Megabyte while he'd had the chance?  
  
Jareth looked up and saw Megabyte standing atop the ABC, glaring down at him. "It seems you will be a bit more difficult to take care of than I thought... but I will not let a half-breed like you remain in MY city. Rest assured, you will be taken care of." Megabyte motioned to the pilot, and the ABC blasted Jareth again, knocking him to the ground. When Jareth finally managed to stagger to his feet, Megabyte was gone.  
  
* * *  
  
"So it wasn't all Megabyte?"  
  
"Not exactly, Jareth," said Hexadecimal. "Megabyte was the one who put the collar on me. But this..." Hex raised a hand to her mask. "This was my fault. I was playing with the hardware that Megabyte created... Remember that?" Hex often had to remind Jareth about things, his memory was completely unreliable. Once, he'd even forgotten his own name. Jareth nodded.  
  
"Well, I was aiming it at the Principal Office when a Game Cube fell on me. I was nearly destroyed, but Megabyte saved me."  
  
"He save you... because he wanted to control you."  
  
"Yes... And I will RIP HIM APART THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIM!"  
  
Jareth didn't even flinch at the abrupt emotion change. He was used to it. "I'll help. I would've had him if he hadn't--"  
  
"I know. You told me already."  
  
"I did?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Oh. Sorry."  
  
"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll get Megabyte eventually. Heehee."  
  
"Heeheehee... I can't wait. I which he were here right now, I'd start by yanking his little retractable fingernails out one by one--"  
  
BOOOM!  
  
Jareth was cut off as the lair was shaken by a huge blast from outside.  
  
"What was that?" asked Hex.  
  
"I dunno..."  
  
Jareth and Hex flew over to one of the windows. And neither could believe what they saw. Megabyte was attacking the Lair, sending wave after wave of ABC's into Lost Angles. Jareth and Hex both switched to astonished faces, not believing what they were seeing.  
  
"He's crazier than we are," said Jareth.  
  
"Oh, I don't know about that..." Without another word, Jareth and Hexadecimal simultaneously dove out of the window and began bombing the ABC's. Jareth came up behind one of the ABC's and grabbed it's bumper.  
  
"Hey, Hex!" Hexadecimal looked up from the tank she was blasting. "Catch!" Jareth spun around, swinging the ABC in an arc and finally flinging it over to where Hex floated. Hex switched to a grin and caught it.  
  
"Now, what am I supposed to do with this?"  
  
Jareth pointed to the ranks of ABC's that were attacking from one side. "How about..."  
  
"Oh." Hex threw the ABC into the leading tank. Both ABC's exploded, decimating the first few lines of oncoming tanks.  
  
"Allright, now how should we deal with those?" asked Jareth, gesturing towards the invaders that were approaching from the other side. There were literally hundreds of them.  
  
"Oh, my. There are an awful lot of them aren't there?"  
  
"Yes, there are. Maybe we should--"  
  
BOOOOM! Suddenly, Jareth's right wing was clipped by a stray blast. Going into a tailspin, he fell to the ground. Hard. "Owwww!" Jareth sat up and rubbed his head.  
  
"Jareth! Are you okay?" Hex called.  
  
"Ummm... No." Jareth examined his wing. Most of the feathers had been burned off, and the skin underneath was badly scorched. He wouldn't be using it again any time soon, and unlike Hexadecimal, he couldn't fly very well without his wings. For now, he was grounded.  
  
Jareth morphed his wings back into his coat. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a small orb, perfectly round and made of flawless crystal.  
  
"Heads up!" he called to the ABC that had clipped him. He threw the ball with impressive speed, even for a Chaos Virus. And the aim wasn't bad, either. The crystal ball hit the ABC head-on, exploding on contact and showering the area with flaming shrapnel.  
  
And still more came.  
  
* * *  
  
"I still say we could've had a little more fun with those things. It's not every day a sprite gets to rip apart an ABC. And, by the way, what a cheap way to win. I mean, couldn't you have been a LITTLE more original?"  
  
"But Jareth," said Hex, "That's what Nulls are for."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, you and your hobbies. I hate Nulls. They're just... yucky."  
  
"Oh, go jump in a tear. At least they're gone."  
  
Jareth shrugged, petting Scuzzy. "Fair enough. By the way, you're gonna have to teach me how you fly without wings."  
  
"I have to. I don't have wings."  
  
"So how do you fly? I mean, at least Hack and Slash have jets."  
  
"Had."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Had. They... aren't around anymore."  
  
"Hex... You didn't."  
  
Hex switched to a sad face. "I'm sorry Jareth. I forgot that they were your friends."  
  
"Don't worry about it. Megabyte built them to fall apart, so they could repaired more easily. They'll just pull themselves together, like they always do."  
  
"Oh, I don't think so, Jareth. I'm afraid there wasn't much left."  
  
Jareth looked out the window. "Okay. Tell you what, I'll go see if I can't salvage them."  
  
"When will you be home?"  
  
"I don't know. It'll probably take me a few hours." Jareth took a few steps towards the window before he remembered that he could no longer fly. "Could you zap me there?"  
  
"Of course," Hex said. She waved a hand at Jareth, instantly transporting him to a the now abandoned Sector G-Prime. Hex sat in silence for a while, thinking he strange, chaotic thoughts. Suddenly, something clicked. Hex sat straight up in her throne.  
  
"'Hours'?" she asked, glancing over at Scuzzy. "Did he say 'Hours'?" Scuzzy nodded.  
  
"Oh dear..."  
  
To Be Continued.... 


	3. Flashbacks

The Viral Guardian Series  
  
by Jareth, The Viral Guardian  
  
Chapter Three: Flashbacks  
  
Though it was undoubtedly the most chaotic place in Mainframe, even Lost Angles was relatively peaceful at night. Jareth, the Viral Guardian, wandered aimlessly through the halls of Hexadecimal's Lair. Though it was late, and he was tired, he just hadn't been able to log off. Something was bothering him. He could feel the energy of the system flowing differently. Something was about to happen, something BIG. The last time he'd had a premonition like this, Megabyte had fired Bob into the Web and infected Mainframe. That had been nearly a year ago, and nothing had been the same since. Enzo Matrix, Frisket, and that fiery haired hacker had been lost in a Game, and Megabyte had moved into the Principle Office, infecting the Command.Com. Megabyte had even invaded Lost Angles, Hexadecimal's private city. Jareth switched to a grin. That had been fun, fighting Megabyte's troops. Hex had ended the fight rather abruptly, calling in a massive flock of Nulls and sicking them on the ABC's. Things had been rather boring in Mainframe since then. Megabyte had the good sense not to try another attack on his siblings. Occasionally, Jareth's Guardian programming kicked in, and he helped out in one of the Rebel attacks, but for the most part he simply moped about the Lair. But that was all going to change now.  
  
Jareth's eyes began to glow a soft white as a vision struck him. These visions didn't come often, but when they did, they showed him things that were of great importance to everyone. This time, Jareth's vision focused on a tear just south of Lost Angles. As he watched, the tear transformed into a portal, and a strange looking ship flew towards Mainframe, and-- The premonition ended.  
  
The Viral Guardian laughed. Finally, SOMETHING fun was going on. He uncased his wings and flew off, strait for the nearest window.  
  
* * *  
  
As the Saucy Mare approached Mainframe's Web Address, Matrix walked over to one of the viewpoints. Mouse's trap had nearly destroyed the ship before she had been able to turn the thing off. Matrix glanced at Surfer, who was sitting back against a wall. His energy had been nearly exhausted trying to protect the ship with his force field. He didn't have enough juice left to convert the tear into a portal that lead back to Mainframe.  
  
"Well, what do we do now?" AndrAIa asked, walking up behind Matrix. The lovely Game Sprite looked worried. Nothing strange about that. They'd all be deleted unless they found a way to convert that tear.  
  
"Ah've managed to shut down the trap," Mouse said, still typing at her work station. "All except this." Mouse gestured to the screen. On the display was the Saucy Mare, which was slowly being pushed towards the tear by a wall of energy. "Ah never meant for this to be turned off. It's a surprise Ah was able to shut it down at all."  
  
"We've got to find a way to stabilize that tear," said Bob.  
  
"But how?" asked AndrAIa. "Glitch is broken, and the Surfer's worn out. What else can stabilize a tear?"  
  
"A Game can stabilize a tear, but we don't get those here in the Web," Bob replied.  
  
Glitch began to make loud bleeping noises. "Well, yes... It IS possible," Bob seemed to understand what Glitch was saying. Glitch beeped in response. "But I won't--" Glitch beeped more urgently, cutting off Bob's objections. Bob sighed.  
  
"You're right. There is no other way. Get back, everyone."  
  
Everyone stood back. Glitch began glowing, turning bright gold.  
  
"You're sure?" Bob asked. Glitch beeped in response. It's tone said, "I've never been more sure in my life."  
  
"Thank you... old friend. Glitch\Download!" Glitch flew from Bob's wrist and started circling him, leaving a trail of glittering light. In a few moments, you couldn't see Bob at all. Suddenly, with a bright flash, the light show ended. Bob and Glitch had merged. Bob was now covered in silver armor. His icon was contained in a gold sunburst in the center of his chest. "We are now one," Bob looked at his traveling companions. "Let's go home."  
  
Bob clapped his hands together, creating a large charge of energy. Rocketing strait up, Bob passed through the web armor and began projecting his energy at the tear. The tear stabilized, and the ship passed through.  
  
* * *  
  
Aghast, Matrix stared at what had once been his home. Megabyte had reduced his city into a smoking wasteland. Tears were everywhere, Nulls crowded the streets.  
  
"Oh. My. User," AndrAIa said.  
  
"By the Code... this city's been reduced to rubble," Gavin said.  
  
"Megabyte," Matrix said, the anger clear in his voice.  
  
"I'm needed below deck. The ship's nowhere near battle ready, and it looks like we might need it," AndrAIa said. "Why don't you guys go and scope out the city?"  
  
"Good idea. Come on, Matrix," Bob jumped on one of the Saucy Mare's zip boards and started off towards the city.  
  
Matrix quickly followed.  
  
* * *  
  
The next few seconds in Mainframe were uneventful, to say the least. Bob and Matrix reunited with Dot. While the rebels stormed the P.O., Matrix confronted Megabyte, battling him and eventually sending him into the Web. Bob was abducted by Hexadecimal, but then used his new Keytool powers to defragment her head, transforming her mask into a real face. The system began to crash from all the damage caused by Megabyte, but Bob ventured into the core and was able to power down the system before it could crash. Bob, Matrix, and the others had gathered in the P.O., trying to figure out how to save Mainframe.  
  
"We can't effect repairs without power, but if we power up a sector, it'll just start going off-line again," AndrAIa said.  
  
"There is one thing we could do... but I don't like it," Bob said, "Bear in mind, this is a last resort..."  
  
"WARNING... INCOMING GAME..." the system's voice rang out throughout Mainframe, announcing the arrival of a Game.  
  
Matrix actually grinned, "Let's do it!" He started for the door, but then turned back. "Aren't you comin' Bob?"  
  
After a pause, Bob replied, "No... and you mustn't go either, Enzo."  
  
Matrix was shocked. "What? But Bob... the lost Game could push Mainframe over the edge!"  
  
"Listen... It goes against everything I cam, but I think if the system crashes, it could force a restart."  
  
"You can't know that!" Matrix couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could a Guardian NOT go into a game? Especially Bob? But it was too late. They had wasted too much time arguing, and the Game was finished downloading.  
  
"No!" Matrix cries as the Game Wall closed. There was nothing they could do now.  
  
Dot was as shocked as the others, but she shook ti odd. "We... don't have much time. Mouse, help me scan for all active PID's. If... WHEN the system restarts, they'll be deleted if they're not scanned.  
  
"Ah'm on it, sugah." Mouse hurried over to the workstation and started typing with blinding speed. This wouldn't take long...  
  
Moments later, their work was done.  
  
"There. Done," said Dot. "All active PID's have been scanned. All we can do now is... wait."  
  
"Oooh, what are we waiting for?" Without warning, a pair of masks one black and one white, cam floating into the P.O. control room. The white one floated with an eerie grace, but the black one spun around as if directionless. In a bright flash of light, both Jareth and Hex instantly appeared.  
  
"Is it a surprise?" Hexadecimal asked. "I LIKE surprises."  
  
"Hey, we brought biscuits. Would anybody like one?" Jareth held out plate laden with Binome shaped biscuits.  
  
Surfer took one from the platter and took a bite out of it. "Mmm... Not bad," he said.  
  
Mouse smacked the treat out of his hand.  
  
"So, what are we waiting for?" Jareth asked.  
  
"The system's going to crash as soon as that Game leaves," Dot said. "Then, with any luck, the system will restart, and anything Viral will be deleted."  
  
"ANYTHING?" Jareth and Hex asked simultaneously, leaning in.  
  
"Well..."  
  
"Dot...," Bob asked, giving her a pathetic puppy dog look. "Please?"  
  
"... Oh, allright. But I can't BELIEVE I'm doing this." Dot reached into the pocket of her jumpsuit and pulled out an Icon. "Registering a Virus... what would Phong say?" she asked, handing the Icon to Hexadecimal.  
  
"You can ask him," Jareth said, "Once the system restarts and the infection leaves."  
  
"Do YOU need and Icon Jareth?"  
  
Jareth pointed to his PID in it's gold claw horn in the center of his chest. "No thanks, I've already got one. I don't know if it'll work, but..."  
  
"Well, if you've already got one then I can't register you anyway," Dot said. "We'll just hope for the best, right?"  
  
Jareth nodded.  
  
"So," Hex said. "What are we going to do until after the system restarts? I've been quite bored recently..."  
  
"Well," Bob said. "First, we're all going to take a well deserved break. After that, we have to figure out how to save the Guardian Collective from a super-virus named Daemon."  
  
Though they hadn't been very interested at the start of Bob's speech, both Viral's heads snapped up at the mention of Daemon. Jareth and Hex shared a look.  
  
"Well, well... she really did it," Jareth said.  
  
"I always knew she would!" Hex replied, clapping her hands in glee.  
  
"Do you think she still remembers us? It's been so long..."  
  
At this point, everyone was in the room was staring at them... but not out of fear.  
  
"What are you two talking about?" asked Matrix. "How do you know Daemon?"  
  
Jareth started giggling. "It's... a long story."  
  
Bob shrugged. "We've got some time to kill before the game leaves. Why don't tell it to us?"  
  
Jareth shrugged back. "Why not?" he asked. Slowly, haltingly at first, then faster as the memories returned to him, Jareth began to tell his story...  
  
* * *  
  
A long time ago, in the very same system...  
  
"Warning... Incoming Game." The system's female voice rang out throughout the system. As the skies over Mainframe clouded over, an enormous purple cube descended on the citizens below. Though he was normally assigned to Mainframe's other city, a young sprite tore across the sky towards the Game Cube. His new body armor glistened in the early morning sun, and a shiny Guardian Keytool sparkled on his arm. Jareth grinned as he neared the Game. This User wouldn't stand a chance. Jareth remembered the last game he was in. That was back when he had first arrived in Mainframe, before he even became a Guardian, and he had still won. No User stood a chance when Jareth was-- SLAM! Not watching where he was going, Jareth collided head on with someone else that was headed for the same game. Jareth's zip board was knocked out from under him, sending both him and and the other sprite plummeting to the ground.  
  
"Ooow..." When Jareth awoke, a large sprite was glaring down at him. His skin was blue and his hair was a dull chrome. He wore the armor and Keytool of a Guardian, but his belt was different, and a cylinder about the size of a sword hilt was hanging from it.  
  
"Hello, Backslash," Jareth said, as the other Guardian offered him a hand up.  
  
"Hello, Jareth. Aren't you supposed to defending the OTHER city?"  
  
Jareth shrugged. "I figured you guys might need my help. I guess I was wrong."  
  
Backslash shot a glare at Jareth. "Well, you screwed up. It's a good thing Kit got into the Game, or everyone would be really screwed."  
  
Jareth looked at the electric purple walls of the Game Cube. Once a Game landed, no one could get in or out.  
  
"Aren't you worried about Kit?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Nah, she can take care of herself. But I still wish I could have been in there with her."  
  
"Sorry... It's just... BORING on my side of the city. There's this one virus running around, but it's only a class three."  
  
Backslash gave Jareth a strange look. "If it's that weak, why don't you just delete it?"  
  
"And then what would I do with my time? It's bad enough the User only inputs a game every other day."  
  
"Cycle, Jareth. Every other cycle. If you keep talking like you did in the User world, no one in Mainframe's gonna know what you're talking about."  
  
"Whatever. The point is, I never have anything to do. Even when games DO fall, they fall on your half of Mainframe I'm bored out of my skull."  
  
"So, tell me Jareth, who's defending the other city?"  
  
Jareth shrugged. "Electra's still there. I'm sure she can handle anything Timesprite can dish out. At least for a while."  
  
"Electra can hold her own, but she's no Guardian. It's not HER job to cover for you just because you feel like playing a game. GO HOME, Jareth."  
  
Jareth frowned. "Allright, FINE, I'm goin'. But next time you DO need help, don't call me."  
  
Jareth hopped on his zip board and took off, heading back towards the other city. Backslash watched him leave, then sat down, waiting for the game to end.  
  
* * *  
  
"Game Over..."  
  
The enormous purple cube shot into the sky, disappearing with a loud Bang. There where the cube had been, stood a young female sprite, she had pale blue skin, slightly lighter than Backslash's. Her hair was dark brown, with eyes to match.  
  
"Kit! How did it go?" Backslash asked. It had to have gone well, since Kit was still standing there.  
  
"Hey, Backslash. Where were you? I could have really used your help in there."  
  
"I... ran into Jareth."  
  
"So? Why weren't you in the Game?"  
  
"No," Backslash said, "I mean it. I RAN INTO Jareth. Or he ran into me. Whichever."  
  
A perplexed look crossed Kit's face. "What was Jareth doing on this side of the system? Isn't he supposed to be guarding the other city?"  
  
"Yeah, but he says he gets bored. He says the only playmate he ever has is a level 3 chaos virus."  
  
Kit laughed. "Yeah, her name is Timesprite. I tangled with her once before. She's not as weak as most Level 3's."  
  
"I know. she can cause some mischief here and there, but still--" Backslash stopped mid sentence as the skies above Mainframe darkened.  
  
"What the... Don't tell me it's ANOTHER Game?"  
  
"I don't think so," said Kit. "The system hasn't announced a Game. This must be something else. I think maybe we should go ask Light."  
  
Without another word, both Kit and Backslash maximized their zip boards and headed off.  
  
* * *  
  
"Well?" asked Backslash. "What is it?"  
  
Light Matrix, one of the Command.Coms of system Mainframe, turned from the Vidwindow to face Backslash and Kit. The blue light from numerous view screens and Vidwindows of the Principle Office contrasted with Light's green skin and purple eyes, giving her and eerie look.  
  
"It's a Virus," she said. "But not like one I've ever seen before. It looks to be at least a Class 7, and we have not idea what it's doing in Mainframe."  
  
"Well, Jareth was right," said Kit. "All the excitement DOES seem to be in our city."  
  
"I wouldn't call that a good thing," said Backslash. Then, to Light, "Can you get a visual?"  
  
Light turned to the elderly sprite who was being displayed on one of the Vidwindows.  
  
"Phong?" she asked. Phone, the Command.Com of Mainframe's other city, kept in the constant contact with Light. By keeping in touch, the two leaders of Mainframe kept things running smoothly. Phong typed a few keys on his console, displaying a visual of the virus.  
  
Backslash's eyes widened. Never had he seen a sprite who was so beautiful and yet so obviously evil. Her skin was purple, with emerald green hair. Her well shaped body was encased in a form fitting black suit. Her fingernails were black, as were her eyes. She was hopping from building, and seemed to be searching for something.  
  
"Well, what do we do? Delete her?"  
  
Backslash turned to Kit. "Of course. What else do you do with a virus?"  
  
"Perhaps," Light said," it would be better to find out what she is after in Mainfra--"  
  
"Mommy! Mommy!" A small sprite ran into the room, cutting off the Command.Com's dialogue. He ran over to Light and grabbed a hold of her leg.  
  
"Whatcha doin'?" He asked, grinning up at her.  
  
"Enzo! What have I told you about interrupting Mommy's work?"  
  
Enzo frowned. "I know. 'Don't bother Mommy when she's working'. But I wanna help!"  
  
"Enzo!" A female sprite of about 13 entered the room. "Come here." The new sprite looked contritely at Light. "Sorry, Mom. He got away from me."  
  
Light smiled back. "That's okay, Dot. I know Enzo has a way of doing that. Why don't you take him to your Dad's lab, let Enzo bother HIM for a while?"  
  
Dot grinned. "Good idea," she said, dragging a loudly complaining Enzo over the to the door. "Bye Mom!"  
  
"Bye-bye Mommy!"  
  
Light watched as her children left the room. Sometimes she wished she had more time to spend with them, but her duties as the Command.Com of this city took up most of her time. She wished--  
  
"Hey! Light!" Backslash said, shocking her out of her reverie. She shook her head.  
  
"Sorry. As I was saying, I think we should find out what she wants before we delete her. It could be important."  
  
"Right," said Kit. "Backslash and I will check her out. See what she's up to."  
  
"We'll let you know what we find out, Light," said Backslash. Light watched as Backslash and Kit left the control room.  
  
"Good luck," she said as the doors closed behind them.  
  
* * *  
  
The virus flitted about Mainframe, searching high and low for an extremely large source of energy. There had to be some energy somewhere in this system. She had already drained a few of the binomes that crossed her path, but that wasn't nearly enough. Maybe if she--  
  
"Hey! Virus!"  
  
The virus turned around to see a pair of sprites standing behind her, one male and one female. Both appeared to be wearing Guardian protocols, and both had Keytools aimed right for her.  
  
"I am Backslash Interface, Guardian 542 of System Mainframe. State your name and function."  
  
So. They WERE Guardians. Very well, if they wished to play... "I am Daemon, a Web Virus. My function is to destroy and conquer."  
  
"Well, that answers THAT question," the female said. "Now what?"  
  
"Now, you DIE!" Daemon lunged at Kit, her fingernail-claws extended. Just before she connected, Backslash knocked Kit aside, taking the blow right across the chest.  
  
"AAAGH!" Backslash doubled over, clutching his bleeding torso.  
  
"Backslash!" Kit cried, rushing over to him and examining the slashes.  
  
The wounds were long, but shallow. They'd leave scars, but they weren't life threatening.  
  
"My, my... aren't we the loyal friend," Daemon chuckled. "Listen up and listen good, Guardians. I'm here to get something done, and anyone or anything that gets in my way is going to be ERASED. So you can either try to save half of your pathetic system, or you can STAY OUT OF MY WAY."  
  
Daemon transformed into a large fireball and simply flew away, leaving Kit and the badly bleeding Backslash standing in the alley.  
  
"What do think she meant, 'half the system'?"  
  
"Umm... Kit... I'd really love to sit here and discuss this... but I think I need medical attention."  
  
"Heh heh... Oh. Right. Sorry."  
  
* * *  
  
"Are you sure she said 'Half the system'?" Light asked, trying to piece together the incident.  
  
"Pretty sure," said Backslash, then winced as the bandage was wound tighter around his torso. The medical droid had stitched him up, and was now applying a heavy duty dressing to the wound.  
  
"I wonder what she meant..."  
  
"Just what she said, I guess," said Kit. "She only plans to destroy half the system."  
  
"Would that be our half, our Phong's half?" asked Backslash.  
  
"I don't know, but we should definatly call Phong up and tell him about this," Light said. She immediately called up a Vidwindow. Phong appeared, a concerned look on his face. Light called him on an emergency channel, so something had to be amiss.  
  
"What is it, my child?"  
  
"Phong, we've got a problem. Backslash and Kit confronted the Virus and she mentioned destroying half the city. But we don't know which half she means, so we thought we should want you."  
  
"I see... Do you suppose she was speaking figuratively?"  
  
Light, Kit, and Backslash traded glances.  
  
"That... actually didn't occur to us," said Backslash."  
  
"She sure SOUNDED like she meant it," Kit said.  
  
Phong didn't look convinced. "Viruses tend to destroy entire systems, not split them down the middle. I shall inform Jareth."  
  
"If Jareth's the only Guardian in your city, then your in BIG trouble. He's never even attended the Academy," said Backslash.  
  
"Backslash!" Kit smacked Backslash on the back, forgetting his injury. Backslash flinched.  
  
Light spoke up. "Jareth may not have ever been actually trained as a Guardian, but he's not as pathetic as Backslash seems to think."  
  
"Light is correct. I believe Jareth can provide adequate protection. Besides, even if he's not strong enough, Electra also lives on our side of Mainframe. Between the two of them..."  
  
"Right," said Kit. "You've got it covered. We just thought we'd let you know what you were up against."  
  
"Thank you, my child. I am sure we can deal with this. Phong out." Phong closed his Vidwindow, leaving the others to figure out what Daemon was up to.  
  
* * *  
  
"There's a virus loose in Mainframe?"  
  
With a sigh, Phong turned around. He really hated it when Jareth eavesdropped on his calls. He had only moments ago broken the link with the other Principle Office.  
  
"Yes, Jareth, there IS a virus. A class 7. Backslash and Kit confronted her a few nanos ago, in the other city. Backslash was badly injured."  
  
"Spammit! Why am I always the last person to hear about these things? I'm goin' to help."  
  
"No Jareth. The other city has two Guardians to protect it, but should the Virus attack here, you are the only protection we have."  
  
"Not true, Electra lives on this side and she can deal with any Virus. You're covered if the Virus wants to come here. I'm going after it. Later!"  
  
"Jareth, wait!" Phong protested, but it was too late. Jareth was already gone.  
  
* * *  
  
Daemon leapt from building to building, almost animal in her movements. She was making incredible time, tearing across the city towards the P.O. Once she got there, she could finally get this taken care of and LEAVE this two-bit system.  
  
"Shark-- Pulser Cannon!" Without warning, Daemon was suddenly hit from the side by a totally unexpected energy blast. Though it knocker her off course, it was more annoying than painful. Looking up, to see the source of the attack, Daemon spied another Guardian, this one wearing black armor, detailed in gold. Like the others, he too, was aiming his pesky Keytool at her. He stood floating on his zip board, ready to fire.  
  
"So, there are more of you. Just how many Guardians does this system have?"  
  
"Counting me? Seventeen."  
  
Daemon sneered. "Very funny. Seriously, just how many Guardians does a pathetic system like this one need?"  
  
"Do all viruses talk as much as you? Shark-- Wide-Field Energy Be-" Daemon cut Jareth's command short with an energy blast to the head.  
  
Jareth fell off his zip board, plummeting down into the gap between the building. Daemon walked over to the edge of the building and looked down. Jareth had hit his head against a container and was out cold. He wouldn't be causing her any more trouble. Daemon continued her trek towards the P.O.  
  
* * *  
  
The night sky above Mainframe was beautiful, and the stars from the User's screen saver shone brightly tonight. However, those who worked in the P.O. had no time to enjoy it. Many binomes rushed around, moving documents from one place to another. Light had fallen asleep at her terminal, and was drooling all over the screen.  
  
Backslash typed frantically at the keyboard of his workstation, trying to get a fix on Daemon's location. Somehow, she was managing to keep herself off the P.O.'s scanners.  
  
Kit walked into the room, carrying a cup of what appeared to be coffee. She offered it to Backslash, who took it, gulped it down, and continued typing.  
  
"Any luck?" she asked.  
  
"No." Backslash turned from his console to look at Kit. "She'd not showing up anywhere, in either city. I don't know where she went."  
  
"Maybe she went home?"  
  
"Yeah, and maybe if I flap my arms I can fly. No, she wouldn't have left before she did whatever she came here to do. We've got to find her before--"  
  
Suddenly, the Principle Office's alarms went off and the red lights began flashing out of nowhere.  
  
"-- before she finds us," Backslash finished.  
  
Light started awake, instantly shaking off any residual grogginess. "What is it?" she asked, walking over to look at Backslash's console.  
  
"Daemon's attacking the P.O.," Backslash said. "She's already infiltrated levels 2, 3, and 5. And she's headed towards..." He looked up at Light. "The Core."  
  
* * *  
  
Daemon walked down the corridors of P.O., heading directly for the System Core. Once she got there, she would have  
  
more than enough energy. Of course, taking that energy would cause the core to explode, taking the entire city with it, but that was how it went. She'd be long gone by then.  
  
"Hey! Daemon!" Daemon turned, and recognized the Guardian that had confronted her before, the one who she'd slashed across the chest.  
  
"What do you want, Guardian? No, wait, let me guess. You're here 'To Mend and Defend', right? Here to try to stop me?"  
  
"That's right," Backslash said. "It was clever of you, shutting down the P.O. defenses like that. but you've still got to deal with the Guardians."  
  
Daemon laughed. "The Guardians? The Guardians are a joke. In fact, I have some BIG plans in mind for the Guardian Collective... But I can't get started on that until I've finished my work here."  
  
"Just what exactly IS you're work here, Virus?"  
  
"It's like this, Guardian. There's a good chance I might get completely erased trying to crack the Supercomputer. So, I figured it might be a good idea if I download myself. Make a few... well, not exactly copies, but, shall we say, offspring?"  
  
"You're about to wipe half the system, just to make yourself a back-up?"  
  
"A few back-ups, actually. Two, maybe three. They'll be able to cause more than enough trouble on their own, but, if I AM, deleted, they'll have instructions to unite and rebuild my code."  
  
Backslash removed the cylinder from his belt and thumbed a switch on the side. With a *Snap-Hiss!*, an energy blade  
  
extended from one end, forming a sword. Without warning, a voice rang out throughout the chamber.  
  
"Shark-- Chainsaw!"  
  
"Jareth?" Backslash turned around, and there stood Jareth, wielding a black and gold chainsaw. "Hi, Backslash. Need a hand?"  
  
"NO. You're just going to get hurt here, Jareth. Go help Kit evacuate the city."  
  
"Not this time, pal. I'm going to help, whether you like it or not."  
  
"Then stay out of my way." Backslash took a swing at Daemon with his sword, but the Web Virus simply caught it.  
  
"Oh please. You'll have to do better than THAT..." Daemon snapped her fingers, and all three of them instantly appeared inside the Core. The density of the energy made movement difficult, and prolonged exposure would lead to erasure. The heat was almost more than Backslash could stand.  
  
"What? What are we doing in the core?" Jareth asked.  
  
"I thought I'd let you watch. After all, you've managed to keep me amused while I was here. Not every sprite is so privileged. You should be thanking me, really."  
  
Daemon waved her hand, trying to use her power to clone her own code... and nearly blasted herself across the room.  
  
"Spammit!" she exclaimed. "It looks like I need a base code to build on..."  
  
"What does THAT mean?" asked Backslash.  
  
"It means, Guardian, that I need to steal the code from another sprite to attach to my code. I'll be right back, don't disintegrate too much while I'm gone..." Daemon faded out, teleporting to another part of the city.  
  
* * *  
  
Doppler Matrix was almost finished. It had taken him minutes, but he had FINALLY figured out an equation to reverse the effects of Nullification. Now, he just needed to give it one final test...  
  
"Hey Dad!" Doppler grinned as his young daughter, Dot, entered the Lab, dragging her little brother Enzo along beside her.  
  
"Dot! What are you doing here?"  
  
Dot laughed, "It's nice to see you too."  
  
"Hi Daddy," little Enzo said, waving up to his father. Enzo broke away from his sister and started running around the Lab, playing with the equipment.  
  
"Hey!" Doppler cried, as Enzo picked up a curved scalpel and began waving it around. "Put that down Enzo! You'll put your eye out!"  
  
"Enzo! Come here." Dot retrieved her brother, then turned back to her Dad. "Mom told me not stay long, just to tell you that the city's being evacuated. She said that unless it was under your microviewer, you wouldn't even notice if the city crashed."  
  
Doppler laughed. "She'd probably right. Okay, you run ahead. Evacuate with the others. I'll be along as soon as I gather up my work."  
  
"Okay, Bye Dad!"  
  
"Buh-bye Daddy!" Dot left the lab, Enzo in tow. Doppler began to collect papers and files, stuffing them into a large briefcase.  
  
Brilliant though he was, he wasn't nearly as organized as his wife. "There," he said, heading for the door. "I think that's everythi--" His words were cut off as he was grabbed from behind around the neck by a very cold hand.  
  
"Hello Dr. Matrix," Daemon said. "It seems that you're the only sprite left in the city. Lucky you."  
  
Doppler clutched at the hand around his neck, but it was too strong. It was cutting off his air supply. The last thing he saw as he lost consciousness was a pair of sinister, jet-black eyes staring right at him...  
  
* * *  
  
"Alrighty kiddos, let's try this again," Daemon said, as she reappeared in the Core. "I've got the Code I need, all the energy I need, and the power to make it all come together. Just watch..."  
  
Daemon waved her hand again and a body formed from the ambient energy. In a few moments, it had taken the shape of a sprite a little taller than Backslash, but with a more slender build. He was wearing loose fitting clothes, with a long black leather trench coat. His skin was flawless white, but his hair and clothes were as black as night itself. Instead of a face, his head bore a mask, also pitch black, but with glowing green eyes. Around his neck was a shiny golden triangle on a chain, with a circle in the center that glittered in the core light. Finally, a large pair of feathered wings unfurled from his back, giving him an almost angelic look.  
  
"Well Guardians? What do you think? I believe I shall call him... Lore."  
  
Lore waved his hand in front of his mask, and it changed from a neutral face to one displaying an evil grin.  
  
"Why hello," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you." then, to Daemon, "Can I eat them?"  
  
"Daemon grinned. "Not just yet, Lore. First, let them see what else I have up my sleeve." Daemon waved her hand again, and another sprite began to take form...  
  
* * *  
  
As the energy Daemon consumed weakened their half of the system, things began falling apart. Bolts of jagged lightning split the skies, and binomes scrambled around like ants.  
  
"This way. Keep moving. No, don't take anything with you, just GO!" Kit desperately tried to keep some sort of order as she and Light evacuated the city. Binomes by the dozen flocked across the bridge into Mainframe's other city.  
  
"How come none of the sprites have evacuated yet? These are all binomes."  
  
"I dunno," Kit said, yelling to be heard over the noise. "But this is the last load of them. I'm going back to help Backslash."  
  
"No Kit. You stay here. I've got an idea." Light maximized her zip board and headed off towards the P.O., leaving a reluctant Kit to round up the stragglers.  
  
* * *  
  
"There! Finished." Daemon stood back to admire her work. She had created two new Viruses besides Lore, on male and one female. The female, a chaotic virus, had a mask identical to Lore's, only white instead of black. Her body armor was red, with a beaded wire frame that covered her bodice. Unlike Lore, she did not have hair, instead a bizarre five pointed crown rested atop her head. The male seemed to be made of blue metal, though it could not be told whether the metal was his skin or just his body armor. He had a more mechanical look than the other two, as well as a more devious, plotting expression.  
  
The two Guardians had been contained behind a stasis field, to keep them out of trouble. Backslash paced restlessly back and forth behind the wall, while Jareth simply sat on floor looked bored.  
  
"Lore, I'd like you to meet your new brother and sister. This is Megabyte."  
  
The male sprite stepped forward. "Greetings," he said. "I hope you do not think I will allow you to remain here once I have taken over this system."  
  
"That won't be an issue," the Guardian in black armor said. "This system's goin' down in flames."  
  
"On the contrary," said Daemon, "Only HALF the system is crashing. Mainframe has two cores, so I didn't think that anyone would mind if I destroyed one."  
  
"Oh, get real. You knew we'd be pissed if you destroyed half the system."  
  
"Oh, my mistake. I meant, I didn't CARE that anyone would mind. Now then. Lore, this is your new sister, Hexadecimal."  
  
Lore switched to a grin. "Nice to meet you Hex," he said.  
  
"Hex... Hex...," Hexadecimal played with the name as if she was tasting it. "I like that."  
  
Daemon grinned. It looked like these two were going to get along just fine. Hardly surprising, since she had practically made them from the same mold.  
  
"All right kids. Time for you to get out of here. If you guys stay here in the core much longer, you'll be toast. I'd strongly advise you to get to the other city before this one collapses."  
  
Hexadecimal switched to a frown. "But mother... aren't you coming with us?"  
  
"I'm afraid not Hex. I've got business in the Supercomputer. But I think I'll see you again. So long kiddies." Daemon snapped her fingers, and the three new Virals were instantly transported elsewhere.  
  
"And what about us?" asked Backslash.  
  
"Oh you. Well, I have to get going. I wonder if the core energy will delete you, or if the city will crash first?"  
  
Jareth, who had been withdrawn and contemplative the whole time, suddenly spoke up. "Hey, what happened to the sprite you stole the code from?" he asked.  
  
"Oh him. He was Nullified of course. You know, it's kind of ironic. It seems he had just discovered a cure for Nullification." Daemon waved her hand and a Null appeared in it. "Isn't that right, Dr. Matrix?" she asked in a baby talk voice.  
  
"Matrix?!" Backslash couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Doppler Matrix?!"  
  
"Yes!" Daemon sounded surprised. "Why? Did you know him?"  
  
Backslash slammed his fists against the stasis wall. When he spoke, it sounded strangely calm and quiet. "When I get my hands on you, Virus, I will rip you apart with my bare hands."  
  
"Uh-huh. And I'm the User. Look, I don't have much time. I can fly in here as easily as you, and I've got stuff to do elsewhere. Bye!" In a flash of light, Daemon vanished, leaving the Guardians to their fate.  
  
* * *  
  
As the weather in Mainframe grew constantly worse, so did the people's tempers. Fights were breaking out in the streets, binomes were literally trampling each other in their haste to get where they were going. the winds were blowing worse than they ever had. Bolts of purple lightning were frequent, and more often than not, they struck something vital. Kit watched as the last few binomes were evacuated from one of Mainframe's cities to the other. Now, she could go back and help Backslash deal with that virus. Maybe there was still time...  
  
"Hey! Kit! Over here!"  
  
Kit turned, and there was another sprite, calling her. Her skin was a deep shade of green and her blue eyes burned like  
  
sapphires, giver her an intense look. Her hair was black, but it had a strange white tint to it, depending on the angle from which it was viewed. She wore the bracers of a Guardian, and each bore a keytool, but the rest of her outfit was that of a typical sprite.  
  
Kit walked over to where Electra was standing.  
  
"Have you seen Jareth?" Electra asked, having to yell to be heard over the wind.  
  
"No. Why?"  
  
"Phong told me that Jareth was in your city, to help you guys fight some level 7 virus."  
  
"He did?" Kit was surprised, although, once she thought about it, she realized she shouldn't be. Jareth was never the sanest individual. "Backslash stayed behind to try and stop her, while Light and I evacuated the city. I was just about to go see if I could help."  
  
"Count me in. Let's go."  
  
Kit and Electra started across the bridge back into Mainframe's other city. They were halfway across when a dangerous looking sprite covered in blue metal ran past. The strange sprite ran on all fours, like an animal, and moved at speeds unattainable to most sprites.  
  
Kit watched as the... thing ran past. "Was that..."  
  
"A virus," Electra said, using one of her Keytools to scan it. "Level 4."  
  
Two more strange sprites flew by overhead, one wearing black and one wearing red.  
  
"And those..."  
  
"Two more. Also level 4. Chaotic. And they just flew back the way we came."  
  
"We'll deal with them later. Right now, we've got a level 7 to take care of."  
  
"And some friends to save. Lead on."  
  
"Right. Follow m--"  
  
Before Kit could even finish her sentence, an energy shield cut her off from the city. She nearly ran headlong into it, and had to be stopped by Electra from falling flat on her ASCII.  
  
"What the motherboard?! Where did that come from?"  
  
"I dunno," said Electra. The two sprites backed up enough to get a good look at the energy field. It was shaped like a dome, covering the entire city. There was no way in, and probably no way out.  
  
Kit was exasperated. "Now what?" she asked.  
  
"C'mon, we can still take care of those three that came past earlier."  
  
Electra grabbed Kit's arm and dragged her off towards the virals.  
  
* * *  
  
Back in the Principle Office, Light closed her Vidwindow. Now that the remaining core energy had been channeled into creating a force shield, no one would be able to enter or exit the city. Unfortunately, she had been to late to stop the offspring Daemon had created. At least, she though, the city was now empty. No one else would be deleted when the city exploded. Just in case, she ran a scan.  
  
"What?" According to the readings, there were still three sprites left in the collapsing city. Three, where there should only be one. Light tapped a few buttons, trying to lock down their location. "This can't be... They're in the Core!" Light typed still more, bringing up a visual. The two remaining sprites were Backslash... and Jareth. What in the Net was Jareth doing here? He wasn't supposed to be in this city, let alone inside the core. The two Guardians were trapped inside what looked like a cage with bars made of energy. There was no telling how long they'd been in the Core. Backslash was sitting down, with his back against the bars, and Jareth had already collapsed. Because of the radiation inside the core, the scanners couldn't tell whether he was still processing or not.  
  
This made things a bit more complicated. Light had made her calculations very carefully when she created the shield. There was just enough energy left to get her through, but there wasn't enough for anyone else.  
  
Light sighed. There was only one thing to do.  
  
* * *  
  
Backslash grimaced, trying not to let the heat get to him. Jareth had already succumbed to the ambient energy, and he wasn't fairing much better. They had already tried using their Keytools to crack the barrier, but even Backslash's lightsaber  
  
wasn't up to the task. It didn't look like there was any way out. Then suddenly, Backslash found himself outside. Not just outside the Core, or outside the P.O., but outside the city. He was standing on the bridge that connected Mainframe's two cities. He didn't know how he had gotten there, but he had to get back. Jareth as still inside the Core.  
  
Backslash turned around, but nearly smacked his face against a solid force wall. The entire city was cut off! There was no way back inside. He had to... he had to... Backslash began to feel dizzy. He had to place a hand against the force wall to steady himself. It looked like the Core took more out him than he thought. Weaving unsteadily, Backslash stumbled away from the wall, towards the still-stable city. Maybe if he could get to the other P.O., he could get Phong to lower the shield. Maybe he could... maybe...  
  
Halfway to the end of the bridge, Backslash collapsed, falling to the ground hard. The energy from the Core had nearly deleted him. There was no way he could get back to save Jareth.  
  
It began to rain.  
  
* * *  
  
Light sighed. She knew she had done the right thing by transporting Backslash out of the core, but still, she regretted it. She regretted that there hadn't been enough energy to transport Jareth as well. She regretted failing as Command.Com, and allowing her city to be destroyed. But most of all, she regretted leaving her children to fend for themselves, with no family to speak of but each other. Light used what little energy the P.O. had left to call up the countdown timer. She wanted to know exactly how much time was left. With a sad smile on her face, she watched the numbers tick inexorably downward...  
  
* * *  
  
Mainframe's twin city exploded with such force that even Phong in the deepest part of the P.O. felt it. The skies, which had become a deep shade of purple, flashed a fiery orange. Within moments, the weather in Mainframe was back to normal. The winds had calmed, the rain had stopped, and the sky returned to it's normal shade of blue. If not for the fact that the sister city was no longer there, it would have been as if nothing had ever happened.  
  
Electra winced as she slowly and painfully peeled herself off the ground. The explosion had sent both her and Kit flying and neither had remained conscious.  
  
Locating Kit, Electra nudged her with her boot. "Kit? Wake up. It's over."  
  
"It is?" Kit's voice was muffled because she hadn't remover her face from the sand yet. "Who won?"  
  
"Hard to say," said Electra. "I think we had better get back to the other city."  
  
* * *  
  
When Electra and Kit finally made it back, what they saw wasn't pretty. All that remained of the twin city was a twisted pile of junk, still connected to Mainframe by a mangled bridge. As Electra walked closer, she noticed something moving near the wreckage. It was a sprite, attempting to drag something from the debris.  
  
"Backslash?" Kit asked. "Is that you?"  
  
"Kit?" Backslash turned around, relieved that she was okay. "I'm glad to see you made it. I was almost afraid we'd lost you too."  
  
"What do you mean, 'Too'? I thought the city was evacuated."  
  
Backslash turned back to the burnt object he was attempting to dislodge from the wreckage. At first, Kit thought he was going to ignore the question, but finally, he answered.  
  
"Not entirely," he said. "When Light left you, she returned to the P.O to try to contain the Viral copies Daemon made. She created an energy shield around the city, and to keep them from escaping, she rigged it so that there was just enough energy for one sprite to pass through the shield. She intended to get herself out as soon as she was done, but she didn't know that Jareth and I were still trapped inside the Core."  
  
"You mean she... didn't make it out?"  
  
"I'm afraid not."  
  
"And Jareth..."  
  
Backslash gestured toward the badly scorched form he was moving.  
  
"Is he..." Electra began.  
  
Backslash shook his head. "I don't know. He didn't delete, but I can't tell if he's still processing. How do you tell with a User?"  
  
Electra looked down at what was left of Jareth. Then we better get him to Phong. Fast."  
  
* * *  
  
"I'm afraid this has not been much help, my children," Phong said. Backslash, Kit, Electra, and even Timesprite were gathered around him, hoping to hear some decent news. Unfortunately, Phong didn't have any to give. "We do not know much more about the User Sprite Phenomenon then we did when it first occurred. We still do not even know HOW they arrive in our systems, let alone how their bodies function when they are here."  
  
"So you can't help him?" Kit asked.  
  
"I am afraid not."  
  
"Will he be deleted?" Timesprite asked.  
  
"I'm afraid that is a distinct possibility," Phong said. Although he didn't usually allow viruses into the P.O., he had made an exception in Timesprites's case. It was well known that Jareth and Timesprite got along, and that her pranks were more mischievous than harmful.  
  
"Oh poo. Who am I going to play with now?"  
  
"Phong," Kit asked, ignoring Timesprite, "What if we sent him back to the User World? Would they be able to cure him there?"  
  
"Possibly, my child. But even if we had the capability to return him to his own world, we could not be certain that he would survive the trip. No, I'm afraid there is little hope for him."  
  
"There has to be SOMETHING we can do for him," Kit said.  
  
"There may be. I shall keep running scans on him. Perhaps an answer will present itself. In the meantime, I suggest that you all go home and get some rest. It has been a trying night... for all of us." His speech ended, Phong turned around and wheeled back into the examination room. The others waited a few moments, then returned to their homes, one by one.  
  
* * *  
  
Jareth awoke rather painfully, his head pounding. What had happened? The last thing he remembered, he was lying on the floor of Mainframe's core, and now he was here... Jareth groaned as he tried to sit up. It seemed he was injured far more than he thought. Checking to see that Shark was still on his arm, Jareth issued a command.  
  
"Shark-- Vital Stats." Shark instantly brought up a display of Jareth's life signs. They didn't look good. If this was right, he didn't have much time left. Jareth didn't want to die... or be deleted... or whatever. It wasn't so much himself that he was worried about, but he couldn't let Daemon infect the entire Guardian Collective. She couldn't be allowed to get to the Supercomputer, and he wanted to be around to help stop her. There had to be a way.  
  
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Without all three of those new viruses, Daemon's back-up plan wouldn't work. If he could somehow replace one of them with his own code, then he could keep himself alive AND throw a monkey wrench into Daemon's plan. Though it hurt when he grinned, Jareth grinned anyway. "Shark\Locate File: Lore. Prepare to Transfer Data..." Jareth removed his black-and-gold Guardian icon, and held it up to his Keytool. "Icon-- Command Line," he said, taking a deep breath. "I hope this works... Download All Files to Level 4 Viral Program." Jareth's icon glowed, projecting a stream of energy into Shark. As Jareth slowly faded from sight, Shark's coloring changed, from blue and silver to black and gold. It's screen changed from white to emerald green. As soon as Jareth disappeared entirely and his codes were stored within Shark, the tiny Keytool shot out of the room and made for the nearest exit.  
  
* * *  
  
"Oh sure, it looks pointless now," said Hex as she and Lore dug through the wreckage of the Twin City. "But I really think that we can fix this place up. Don't you?"  
  
"Absolutely! It'll be a great place to stay. All we need is a name," Lore said, using his powers to assemble some wreckage into a passable building.  
  
"How about... Bob?" Hex suggested.  
  
"I think we can do better than that. I've been thinking about this all day. What do you think of this? 'Lost Angles'. I know, it's kinda corny, but..."  
  
"I like it!" Hex said. "Lost Angles it shall be."  
  
Just then, a small glittering object flew down at the two Virals from the sky. It stopped just above Lore's head, where it began glowing and emitting strange bleeping noises.  
  
"Ooooh... What a pretty little toy!" Hex exclaimed. "What do you suppose it is?"  
  
Before Lore could respond, the Keytool began to shower energy down on him. The beam of light grew brighter, until Lore was no longer visible.  
  
"Lore?" Hex called.  
  
Lore didn't know what was going on. His already chaotic mind began to turn inside out. His thought processes became even more muddled as Jareth's programming, personality, and memories slowly filtered down through Lore's mind.  
  
He screamed. It was too much! Lore fell to his knees, unable to stand the dencity of the data that was being forced into his head.  
  
Finally, the flood of information's ceased. The young sprite was changed, inside and out. From the waist down, he still wore his loose fitting black jeans and combat boots, but from waist up he was now covered in form-fitting Guardian armor. He still wore his coat, and his wings remained unchanged, but his long black hair was no tied back as Jareth's had been, instead of being loose and unkempt. His triangular necklace was no longer worn on a chain, but instead seemed to have been attached to his body armor. The top corner of the triangle now came to a sloping point, and the two bottom points now curved inward, looking like horns or claws. In the center of the triangle sat a strangely altered icon. Instead of being the standard black-and-gold Guardian's Icon, it now was simply a gold diamond with sloping sides on the black background.  
  
Shark, now that it had accomplished it's given task, settled down on the sprite's left bracer, sliding up beneath the sleeve of his leather trench coat.  
  
"Lore?" Hexadecimal asked, tentatively. "Lore? Are you okay?"  
  
The confused sprite looked up at her, then back down at the ground. "Lore?" Hex asked again, her voice growing more concerned.  
  
The sprite climbed to his feet and looked at Hexidecimal. "Call me Jareth."  
  
* * *  
  
"So, that's how it happened," Bob said, breaking the silence after Jareth had finished his tale. "I always wondered how a Chaotic Virus ended up with Guardian Protocols."  
  
"It also explains why Jareth thinks in User-time," Hex said. "The original Jareth was a User-Guardian, and he passed that on to you."  
  
"That must be it," Jareth said. "Hey, by the way, Mouse... you're terminal's blinkin'."  
  
Surprised, Mouse turned away from Jareth and looked at her workstation. Sure enough, it was blinking, indicating a power build-up.  
  
"It looks like the Game's about to leave gang. Ev'rybody get ready."  
  
"Game Over..." Everyone in the P.O. held their breath as the system announced the Game's outcome.  
  
"User Wins..." The Game Cube rocketed off into the air. The sky above Mainframe got even darker, and the system began to crash. Everything darkened and silence settled on Mainframe...  
  
And just as quickly, the System restarted. The skies brightened, the sectors fell back into place, good as new, and even people who'd been lost were being restored. Kit, who'd been deleted by Megabyte cycles before, suddenly reappeared, looking a little dazed, but still none the worse for wear. Timesprite, the Chaos Virus, appeared in the air, floating along as if she'd never left. Binomes by the dozen were restored, reunited with their families and friends.  
  
Suddenly, Megabyte's legacy began to vanish from Mainframe. The Silicone Tor deleted itself, all the Viral Binomes were freed from their bondage. Dot tossed and Icon to Timesprite before the restart could erase her too.  
  
A quick scattering of energy flickered over Hexadecimal, but just as quickly subsided.  
  
"Ooh," she said. "That tickled."  
  
"In all the days I've processed, I've never seen the like..." Gavin said, gazing around him in wonder.  
  
Matrix lifted AndrAIa into the air like she was a child, throwing her up into the air repeatedly. Phong, now free from Megabyte's infection, took the opportunity to snap a few photos.  
  
"Bob!" Without warning, a familiar voice rang out from the inside the P.O. to everyone's surprise, Enzo... the original Enzo, came running out of the P.O. and tackled Bob, in the traditional Enzo-style. Everyone stared in amazement as the new Enzo chattered incoherently at his hyperactive pace, glancing back at Matrix and doing multiple double takes.  
  
Something caught AndrAIa's eye... Matrix's Icon had been in Game-sprite mode when the system restarted. The system hadn't read him as being there, so it created a back-up copy of the original Enzo Matrix.  
  
"It's wonderful, isn't it?" Hex asked. "Isn't it the most beautiful thing you've ever seen Jareth?"  
  
Not hearing an answer, Hex looked back behind her into the Principle Office. There on the floor, lay Shark, beeping forlornly.  
  
Jareth was gone.  
  
To be continued... 


	4. Rejection

The Viral Guardian Series  
  
by Jareth, The Viral Guardian.  
  
Chapter Four: Rejection  
  
Matrix yawned loudly, then took another long swallow from his drink. Night had long since fallen on the System of Mainframe, and most of the other sprites in the City had gone to bed already.  
  
AndrAIa, the beautiful Game Sprite, stood behind the register, dutifully wiping the countertop. All of the other customers had long since left Dot's Diner, but AndrAIa had volunteered to stay behind and lock up.  
  
Neither said a word; in fact, Matrix had almost fallen asleep when the silence was shattered by a loud bark and a painful sounding crash.  
  
"Frisket?" Matrix rose from his seat at the bar and ran out of the Diner, followed closely by AndrAIa.  
  
Just outside the Diner, several small black discs hovered at eye level, each brandishing various weapons and sensory mechanisms. Frisket sat on the sidewalk, growling loudly. One of the discs lay on the street ahead of him, it's outer casing torn apart and it's internal components strewn all over the ground.  
  
As soon as the black discs spotted Matrix, they swiveled all the weapons and targeted him. He quickly drew his Gun, but they fired before he could. He ducked into the diner, using the door frame for cover. Whatever these things were, they had firepower.  
  
* * *  
  
Bob walked down the streets of Kit's Sector, headed for his apartment building. Although he was capable of teleporting, he preferred to conserve his energy. After all, with Daemon on the loose, he never knew when he might need it.  
  
Suddenly, Bob stopped short. He thought he'd heard something. Something high-pitched, like something he'd heard in a Space Invaders Game once. Bob spun around. Nothing.  
  
Shrugging, Bob turned and once again began walking towards his home.  
  
* * *  
  
The windows in front of the Diner shattered under the force of the blasts. Several of the Black Discs hovered in through the broken window, showering the sprites inside with laser fire.  
  
AndrAIa removed the small cylinder from her belt and pressed the small button on the side, lengthening it into a vicious looking, golden trident.  
  
Frisket growled menacingly, baring his razor sharp teeth. The discs advanced without a second thought, almost as if they lacked the capacity for self preservation.  
  
Within moments, the three sprites had made scrap metal of the hovering discs.  
  
"Enzo, what WERE those things?" AndrAIa asked, sheathing her trident.  
  
"Some sort of attack drones," Matrix said, bending over to examine the wreckage.  
  
"But who in Mainframe would attack US?"  
  
"No one in Mainframe," a new voice said, surprising both Matrix and AndrAIa. Both sprites spun around, drawing their weapons.  
  
Matrix sighed, lowering his Gun. "Phong, don't DO that. I nearly erased you."  
  
Phong bowed his head in apology. "I am sorry, my son. I did not mean to startle you. But I think you had best examine the remains more closely. Bob contacted me not long ago. It seems more of these drones attacked him as he was nearing his apartment. Kit reported a similar incident, but was cut off. I fear... the worst."  
  
Matrix pulled a piece of the armor of plating from the wreckage. "AndrAIa... look."  
  
AndrAIa kneeled down next to Matrix. "Phong... this is..."  
  
"The Guardian insignia. Yes my child, I am afraid these drones were sent from the Supercomputer."  
  
* * *  
  
"So let me get this straight...," Timesprite said, yawning loudly. "We're being attacked... by the Guardians?"  
  
"A lot's happened since you've been gone Timesprite," Bob said, sitting down at the conference table with the others. Most of the sprites in Mainframe had come together in the P.O.'s War Room, at Phong's request.  
  
Matrix nodded. "The Guardian Collective has been infected by a Supervirus named Daemon. Kit, Bob, and I are the only three uninfected Guardians in the Net."  
  
"Which is probably why you were targeted," Phong said.  
  
"Daemon certainly wouldn't like to have Guardians around who weren't under her thumb," AndrAIa said.  
  
"And now that Mainframe's back on the Net, it'd be a piece o' cake to attack us anytime," Mouse added.  
  
"Wait a minute," AndrAIa said, "if these drones were designed to seek out Guardians, then..."  
  
Phong looked around at the other sprites at the table. "Kit. She was cut off, right in the middle of her call."  
  
"And Jareth," Bob said. "Can you get a fix on their locations?"  
  
Phong typed a few keys on his console. "I am afraid not. Neither Jareth nor Kit are appearing on the Principle Office's scanners." Phong looked back up at the others. "I am afraid they may already be gone."  
  
"Give me their last known locations," Bob said. "I'll check it out."  
  
Phong complies, and Bob disappeared in a flash of golden light.  
  
Most Chaotic Viruses tended to be nocturnal, and Timesprite flinched at the sudden brightness. Rubbing her eyes, she asked: "So what does it mean if they're gone? Were they deleted?"  
  
"It... is possible," Phong said. "They may have also been captured. We have no way of knowing."  
  
"Well, they're gone," Bob said, reappearing with another bright flash.  
  
"Eep!" Timesprite said, covering her eyes.  
  
Bob shot her a confused look, then shrugged and turned to Phong.  
  
"I checked out Kit's apartment. No one there."  
  
"And Jareth?" AndrAIa asked.  
  
Bob held up a large black feather. "The bridge to Lost Angles is covered with these," he said. "These are blaster marks all over that support tower. You know, the one he likes to stand on?"  
  
"I always knew that was an accident waiting to happen," Matrix grumbled.  
  
"Okay, so they're gone," Mouse said. "The question is, what are we goin' to do about it?"  
  
"Two options," Bob said. "One: We take a little trip to the Supercomputer and battle our way through User knows how many Viruses and Infected Guardians just to see if they're still processing..."  
  
"Or Two," Matrix said, "We go back to bed and forget this whole thing ever happened."  
  
"And we just let them keep Jareth?" Timesprite asked.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"What about Kit?" Dot asked pointedly.  
  
Matrix paused, then let out a sigh. "All right," he sighed, "when do we leave?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Could you please stop pacing?" Kit asked. "You're making me nervous."  
  
Jareth sighed and plopped down into a corner of the cell. After being abducted, the two had been locked in the darkest, dreariest dungeon the Guardians could find for them. At first, Jareth had been thrilled with his new surroundings. But the novelty had quickly worn off. He had gotten bored, and Kit, of course, was never happy with the situation.  
  
"Can't you just, like, blast the door down or something?" Kit asked.  
  
Both their Keytools had been taken from them, leaving them with no way to contact their friends and, more importantly, no way to break free.  
  
In response to Kit's question, Jareth merely shrugged. "I dunno," he said.  
  
"Well, could you TRY?"  
  
"Yes, I could."  
  
There was a brief pause, and Kit stared at Jareth expectantly. Jareth simply stood there.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well, what?"  
  
"Well, WILL you?"  
  
"Will I what?"  
  
"Try to break down the door!"  
  
"Oh. Sure."  
  
Jareth brought his hands together, a massive ball of energy forming between them.  
  
"Stand back," he warned.  
  
Jareth threw the ball directly at the door, where it caused the metal bars to shatter like glass, freeing the two imprisoned Guardians.  
  
At least, that was the plan.  
  
What actually happened was the ball of energy splashed harmlessly off the metal, leaving the bars unscathed.  
  
Kit sighed, then slid down the wall until she was sitting dejectedly on the floor.  
  
Jareth continued pacing.  
  
* * *  
  
"Is everybody ready?" Bob asked. Those who had decided to venture to the Supercomputer had gathered at Mainframe's harbor, where they stood, waiting expectantly.  
  
In response to his question, virtually everyone present answered in the affirmative.  
  
Matrix and AndrAIa stood apart from the others, resting against a pile of wooden crates. Matrix sat on the ground, his back resting against the pile. He grunted with satisfaction, cleaning his Gun with a piece of cloth. AndrAIa leaned against the wood, filing her nails. She held them up to the light, admiring their razor-sharp edge. Hexadecimal lay atop the crates, extending her own claws and comparing them to AndrAIa's.  
  
"So, if you file them, does it take away any of the natural sharpness?" she asked.  
  
"Depends on the file," AndrAIa answered. "Now, if you want them LETHALLY sharp..."  
  
AndrAIa's words were cut off by the sounds of a loud, roaring engine, as Mouse's ship, Ship, flew into the harbor. Beneath it, held in a stasis field was a large, pulsating tear.  
  
"That will do just fine," Bob said, using his Keytool download to analyze the tear. "Go ahead and let her go, Mouse!" he called.  
  
Seated in the cockpit, Mouse nodded and punched the appropriate controls. The energy field dispersed, freeing the tear.  
  
Bob concentrated, letting his eyes fall half-closed. He gathered his energy and prepared to--  
  
"Oh, allow me, Bob!" Hexidecimal cried, breaking the Guardian's concentration.  
  
The chaotic Virus flew out over the energy sea and quickly stabilized the tear into a portal that would take them all directly to the Supercomputer.  
  
Bob sighed. At least he'd save his energy.  
  
* * *  
  
"Talk!" The infected Guardian practically screamed at Jareth.  
  
The Viral Guardian switched to an innocent grin. "Sure. What do you want me to talk about? Oh, I know! I could tell you about the time I was nearly deleted! Should probably be a bit more specific, I've been nearly deleted lots of times. Why, there was this one time when my brother Megabyte-- I think he's dead now, unless he found some way or other to survive the Web... say, have you ever been to the Web? I keep meaning to go, but I never seem to get around to--"  
  
"Shut up!"  
  
"Well, make up your mind," Jareth said, sounding hurt. He folded his arms and put his dead down on the table. On the tabletop in front of him were Shark and Clip, his and Kit's Keytools, evidence of their being Guardians.  
  
"You're clearly a Virus," the Guardian said, pacing back and forth across the interrogation room. "So, would you mind telling me exactly why you registered to the drones as a Guardian?"  
  
"Not at all! You see, I AM a Guardian... I'm just sort of a Virus too. It's a long story."  
  
The Guardian glared at him. "I'll bet most of your stories are. Never mind, that then. Why is it that your Viral energies match out Queen's?"  
  
"That I don't know," Jareth said, resting his elbows on the table in front of him. "My Viral energies really shouldn't match anyone's, except maybe my sister's... or my Mother's, I suppose. I don't know, I've never really tried comparing my energies to anyone's. I wonder how that would turn out? Let's see, I KNOW I've got a scanner in her somewhere..." Jareth began to rummage through his pockets. "Unless it's in that big pile outside."  
  
The Guardians had attempted to search Jareth for weapons, and had commanded him to empty his pockets. But, when the pile of junk reached waist height and Jareth showed no signs of slowing down, they had decided to skip it.  
  
"Hey! Keep those hands where I can see them."  
  
In response, Jareth stuck both hands directly into the Guardian's face.  
  
"Viruses," he muttered. He placed Jareth's hands on the table. "All right, you mentioned your Mother. Who is she?"  
  
"Oh, her name's Daemon, or Demon, or Dameon, or something like that. I haven't seen her in a long time, so it's hard to be sure, and... say, are feeling okay? You look kind of sick."  
  
Sure enough, the Guardian suddenly began to look ill. "Did... did you say Daemon?"  
  
"Yep! That's it. I remember perfectly, now that I've heard it said out loud. Have you ever met her? I seem to recall her saying something about having plans for the Supercomputer and the Guardian Collective. "  
  
The Guardian was no longer listening. He walked over to the door of the interrogation room and opened it a crack, and began speaking to the people outside.  
  
Jareth wondered what they were talking about.  
  
* * *  
  
Now that Jareth was gone, Kit had adopted his habit of pacing the cell. Things had been bad enough when it had been just the two of them, but now it was worse. Even when you don't understand half the things they say, she thought, it's still nice to have someone to talk to.  
  
Suddenly, a sound from outside the cell made her jump. An unconscious Guardian being thrown past the cell made her jump even higher.  
  
"You okay Kit?" Bob's face suddenly came into view from around the corner of the cell. Matrix appeared right behind him, massaging the knuckles of his right hand.  
  
"I am now!" Kit said, as Bob began to charge up a large ball of energy.  
  
"Stand back," Bob said, preparing to release the charge.  
  
"No, Bob, wait, that won't..."  
  
The energy ball struck the bars, but didn't even phase them.  
  
"-- work," Kit finished. "Jareth tried that already."  
  
"Let me try," Matrix said. Bob moved aside, allowing Matrix to move forward. Grasping the bars in his large hands, Matrix attempted to bend them, straining until the veins stood out on his arms and sweat began to trickle down his face.  
  
"Matrix, stop that before you rupture something," Kit said. "Where are the others? Are you two alone?"  
  
"No," Bob said, kneeling to examine the lock of the cage. "AndrAIa is keeping a lookout at the entrance, and Hex... well, she ran off somewhere. You know Hex." Bob stood, having remembered that he knew nothing about locks.  
  
"Where's Jareth?" he asked.  
  
* * *  
  
"Where are we going?" Jareth asked innocently. The two Guardians escorting him down the long passageway didn't answer. After he had told these people that Daemon was his mother, they seemed less interested in him than in how Daemon would react to his presence. They were so preoccupied with this that they hadn't even noticed when Jareth had snatched the Keytools off the table. They had ignored every question, every irrelevant comment. In a nutshell, these people were BORING. Still, he couldn't help but wonder where he was being taken.  
  
After walking for quite some distance, they finally reached a large, heavily armored door. One of the Guardians keyed a lengthy access code into the security panel beside the door, prompting a long string of beeps.  
  
Jareth giggled. "Trick or treat," he said to himself. The Guardians ignored him.  
  
With a loud hiss, the doors parted. Beyond them lay a large chamber, much like the War Room of the Principle Office back in Mainframe. But the technology here looked a great deal more sophisticated. There were more blinking and flashing things than Jareth could count.  
  
In the center of the bleeping and beeping and flashing room was a large chair, like some sort of throne. And seated atop it, glaring condescendingly at everyone around her, sat--  
  
"Mom?" Jareth asked.  
  
The Virus in the throne started at the sound of the familiar voice. She glanced at the new arrivals, and was amazed to see two glowing green eyes staring at her from out of an ebony mask.  
  
"Lore?" Daemon asked. "Is that you?" The Supervirus rose to her feet and walked toward Jareth, her eyes shining with delight as she recognized her oldest son. "Lore! It IS you! Why, I haven't seen you in minutes! But what happened to you? You've changed!"  
  
"It's great to see you again Mom! You don't seem any different at all, except that now you're in charge of the Guardian Collective. I've changed? Really? But these are the same clothes I always... Oh, you don't mean I've changed, you mean I've CHANGED. Well, it's a long story. You see, there was this Guardian who really didn't know what he was doing... you remember, the one who came after you with a chainsaw?"  
  
Daemon frowned. "I remember. But how do you? That was all before you were brought on-line."  
  
"Well, that's the thing. When the city exploded, he transferred himself to me. The Guardian Protocols, his memories... everything."  
  
Daemon looked very depressed by this news. "That's bad Lore."  
  
"Call me Jareth," said Jareth. "I like Jareth better, now that... wait, why is that bad?"  
  
"It means you've been corrupted. You're not a Virus anymore, but still not a Guardian. A little of both, but not enough of either. Worse, it means you can no longer fulfill your function."  
  
Jareth was more than a little confused, a state that he was not unfamiliar with. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I first created you and your siblings so that if anything happened to me, the three of you could unite to form a backup copy. But now your code had been polluted by Guardian Protocols. You're useless to me."  
  
Daemon gestured to the Guardians who had escorted Jareth to her.  
  
"Destroy him," she said, a look of genuine sadness in her eyes. She turned away, mounting the steps back to her throne. The Infected Guardians caught Jareth by the shoulders, and pulled him back out of the room.  
  
"Mom... Mother," Jareth started to say, but the doors closed, sealing off the chamber.  
  
Jareth walked back to his cell in silence, his mask completely expressionless.  
  
* * *  
  
The Guardians knew something was wrong the moment they entered the cell block. A large, unfriendly looking green man and a Guardian in silver armor stood in the hall, apparently talking to one of the prisoners.  
  
They didn't have a chance to do anything about it, however. No sooner had the Big Green Sprite spotted them than he drew the gun from his hip and shot them both, dead on.  
  
Jareth looked from one smoldering body to the other. Both dissolved, as Sprites tend to do when they are deleted.  
  
"Lucky," Jareth said. He walked over to the spot where Bob and Matrix stood, and leaned against the cage.  
  
"Are you okay Jareth?" Bob asked.  
  
"No," Jareth said simply. "Can we go now?"  
  
"Not unless you can open this cage," Matrix grumbled.  
  
Without saying a word, Jareth drew a piece of bent wire out of his pocket, stooped next to the keyhole, and picked the lock.  
  
As the cage door swung open, Kit exited, staring in disbelief at Jareth.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you could pick the lock?"  
  
"You didn't ask." Jareth began walking towards the exit.  
  
"Yes I did! I asked if you could open the door."  
  
The Viral Guardian turned and looked blankly at Kit. After a long pause, he said: "You asked if I could blast the door. You never said anything about picking a lock. If you had asked me to OPEN the door, I would have opened it. You didn't, so I didn't. Now, can we PLEASE leave?"  
  
Without waiting for an answer, Jareth turned and walked out of the prison, with a very confused Kit staring after him.  
  
* * *  
  
On the driveway just outside Dot's Diner, a silvery orb appeared without warning. It remained just long enough for a lone figure to emerge, then vanished. Gazing around at her surroundings, the figure quickly got her bearings and entered the 50's-style Diner.  
  
* * *  
  
Dot Matrix looked up from her organizer as the bell above the Diner door sounded. To her surprise, the sprite standing in the doorway had peach colored skin, the kind she had seen on User Avatars in games. She was wearing armor almost identical to Bob's, but colored red. Dot was even more surprised when the sprite walked right up to her and addressed her by name, as if the two had been friends for quite some time.  
  
"Hi Dot," the sprite said. "Is Jareth around?"  
  
"Jareth isn't in the best of moods lately. He had a disagreement with... look, I don't mean to sound rude," Dot replied, staring at the sprite as if she expected a bird to pop out of her forehead on a small spring, "but who are you?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." The sprite in question extended her hand. "I'm Jo Ann Montgomery, User Guardian One, System Mainframe."  
  
Dot looked at her outstretched hand, not making any effort to touch it. "User Guardian. Right."  
  
"Oh, not this Mainframe. I'm from an alternate universe." The sprite... Jo Ann?... stated this as calmly as if she were ordering an energy shake. The User Guardian looked around expectantly. "Is Jareth here?"  
  
That cleared it up. This wacko was a friend of Jareth's. "Just a second," Dot said, punching a few buttons on her organizer. Within a few moments, Jareth's face appeared.  
  
"Talk, it's your quarter."  
  
"Jareth, could you come to the Diner? There's someone here who wants to talk to you," Dot said, not bothering to ask what a quarter was.  
  
The Vidwindow connection terminated and moments later a spinning mask flew through the doorway. Jareth appeared, materializing in a relaxed position on the countertop.  
  
"What's up?" Jareth asked brightly, his encounter with Daemon all but forgotten. "Oh, hi Jo Ann," he added, noticing Jo Ann's presence.  
  
"Hi Jareth!" Jo Ann said brightly.  
  
Dot looked relieved. "You know this person?"  
  
"Yup," Jareth stated. "Remember when I disappeared after the restart? Well, if any of you had bothered to ask where I'd been, I'd have told you about her.  
  
Jo Ann unclipped a small case from her belt and handed it to Jareth. "Special delivery," she said.  
  
The package contained a holo-disc, which Jareth examined, wearing his most bewildered looking mask. Unable to make heads or tails of it, he looked expectantly at first Dot, then Jo Ann.  
  
"It's a holo-disc, Jareth," Dot said, taking it from him. She switched it on, and instantly holographic letters appeared, hovering just above the disc's surface.  
  
Jareth stared at the letters blankly.  
  
Dot stared at Jareth blankly.  
  
"Well?" she asked. "Are you going to go?"  
  
"Go? Go where?"  
  
"Can't you read it Jareth?" Jo Ann asked.  
  
Jareth shook his head.  
  
"It's a wedding invitation," she explained. "Hex and Rab are getting married, and Hex wants you to be there."  
  
"Rab?" Dot asked.  
  
"He's a sprite Hexadecimal created using pieces of code from every male Guardian in Mainframe," Jo Ann explained.  
  
"He's what you get if you run Ray, Matrix, Bob, and Wild Card through a blender," Jareth simplified.  
  
"Wild Card?"  
  
"Bob's brother," Jo Ann said helpfully.  
  
"Bob had a brother?"  
  
"He does now," Jareth shrugged.  
  
Dot began to massage her temples. "Let me get this straight: Jareth is going to another universe to attend the wedding of his sister to sprite made up of bits of code that were taken from all the Guardians in Mainframe, including one that doesn't exist?"  
  
"Yup. If Hex asks where I am, tell her I'm at her wedding." With that, Jareth followed Jo Ann out the door of the Diner.  
  
"Whatever," Dot mumbled, closing her organizer. Dot got up from her seat, turned out the lights, and locked the doors as she left the Diner for the evening.  
  
To Be Continued... 


	5. A Very Viral Christmas

A Very Viral Christmas  
by Jareth Valentine  
  
T'was Christmas in Mainframe, and all through the Lair  
A lone sprite was stirring, and working with care.  
Sewing and stitching with red and white thread  
and making a hat for his fragmented head.  
He built square-wheeled race cars. He built backward trains.  
He made lots of sweaters with patches and stains.  
And figures and dolls (Not a one had a head).  
He ranted and raved, and here's what he said:  
"I've heard what they say when they think I'm not there.  
I know what they think of the freak with long hair.  
'He's worthless,' they say. 'He's a virus. He's lazy.  
He's sick. He's a monster. A weirdo. A crazy.'  
But Now I've a sleigh! I've made toys! And reindeer!  
Now I'll fix them all! And play santa this year!"  
His reindeer were nothing but cardboard and strings,  
But Jareth's odd powers soon lent them all wings.  
The team and their owner soared out over Mainframe,  
And he laughed like a madman, and called them by name:  
"On Smasher! On Crasher! On Venom! On Trancer!  
On Romper! On Stomper! Go Wraith! Necromancer!"  
Out high over Mainframe the fearsome team rose.  
And, in the lead, Scuzzy! With a light on his nose.  
Before anyone knew it, he'd reached his first stop.  
And dismounted his sleigh with a very loud hop.  
But how to get into the house? He was stuck.  
Since the house had no chimney, He was plain out of luck.  
"I know just what to do!" He said, scratching his head.  
"Since this house has no chimney, I'll make one instead."  
With a wink of his eye, and a flap of his wing,  
He took off the roof and got rid of the thing.  
"That's better!" The sprite said, His eyes all aglow.  
"Now they don't have to go out to play in the snow."  
With that, the Dark Santa hopped down into the house  
and placed into each stocking a live, squirming mouse.  
Then under the tree Jareth left a great pile  
of packages, boxes, and a live crocodile.  
On to the next house he flew, making haste.  
(Since he had just one night, there was no time to waste.)  
With a maniacal laugh and a switch of his face,  
he threw all the stockings into the fireplace.  
Then, laying a finger aside of his head,  
He paused, pulled them out, threw the tree in instead.  
The next house, it seemed, belonged to a slob.  
But, amidst all the junk, there was Guardian Bob!  
Jareth was tempted to playfully to wake him.  
to poke him, or prod him, or slap him, or shake him.  
"Perhaps I had better just wait 'till I'm done.  
If he wakes up now, it'll spoil my fun!"  
So quietly Jareth tiptoed past the bed  
hoping to sneak past the blue sleepyhead,  
But sadly, alas! He tripped over the wire  
and unplugged the charger, which then set Bob on fire.  
Bob came awake, howled, and ran 'round the room  
'Till Jareth helpfully put out the flames with a broom.  
"What are you doing here?" Bob asked with a glare.  
"You shouldn't be here. You belong in the Lair!"  
"That's what everyone says!" Jareth started to shout.  
"I'm tired of that! I just had to get out!  
Everyone tells me to give up, go home.  
And says that I shan't be permitted to roam.  
Even you, Bob! Yes, I've heard what you said.  
That I should be locked up. I'm sick in the head.  
I've heard what you people all say about me.  
But what cheers people up like a bright Christmas Tree?  
I thought if I were to dress up as St. Nick,  
and bring you all presents, then that'd do the trick.  
But I suppose you'll all hate me from now 'till I'm dead.  
Well, screw it. I quit. Now I'm going to bed."  
And without ever adding a single word more,  
He turned his winged back and went strait for the door.  
"No, wait," Bob then said, "I get what you say.  
Nobody hates you, It's not all that way!  
No wait! Listen! STOP!" he said, blocking the door.  
"Look, I'll even help! There, you can't ask for more!"  
  
* * *  
  
A little while later, back home at the Lair,  
Bob looked in the mirror, and straightened his hair.  
Jareth had dressed him in an emerald-green suit.  
From his pointy-tipped ears to his pointy-tipped boot.  
But instead of looking silly, as an elf-suit should,  
somehow, on Bob, it looked actually GOOD.  
So he didn't complain, he even whistled a song,  
as he showed Jareth exactly what he had done wrong.  
"When you go to a house to bring tidings and cheer,  
On your rusty old sleigh with your homemade reindeer,  
the first thing to remember--hey! Listen! I'm talking!  
Most folks don't LIKE to get rats in their stocking.  
So no more bugs, no more mice, nothing slimy or vile....  
And I hope you remembered to catch that crocodile.  
Now, second, whenever you find yourself balked  
the house has no chimney, the doors are all locked,  
you should try to find some way to get inside  
that doesn't mean tearing great holes open wide.  
For no one in Mainframe would be pleased to know  
that their living rooms are full of snow.  
Have you got all that? Good. Than shall we be going?  
Time's running short, and it's started snowing."  
With that, the unlikely pair took to the skies  
and now, with Bob steering, they went As The Crow Flies.  
All over Mainframe, they flew in one night,  
making several stops on their gift-giving flight.  
They stopped at the Matrix house, and left their mark there,  
before once again taking themselves to the air.  
For AndrAIa, a sweater, for Matrix, some coal.  
For Enzo, a skateboard, (Yes, the kind that roll).  
But Dot would be happiest, come Christmas day,  
for often, the woman'd been heard to say  
how badly she wanted one, it made her eyes green  
She now had her very own Expresso Machine.  
Then on to the P.O., they soared with a song,  
For that was the home of Wise Old Phong.  
Phong, when he woke, was quite happy to get  
three packs of Swiss Miss, and a new china set.  
Next the pair flew on, right over a house  
wherein there dwelled a young hacker named Mouse.  
Under her tree, they left quite a nice treat  
a bright new Katana, and new boots for her feet.  
To Timesprite, they gave a green neon flyswatter  
And Kit Maxell loved the book series they got her.  
They ran into trouble when they got to Ray's name.  
For you see, the WebSurfer was not IN Mainframe.  
Out surfing the Web, as always, he'd been.  
And for quite some time now, he just hadn't been seen.  
Neither Jareth or Bob really knew what to do  
So they opened a portal and tossed his gift through.  
What astonishing luck! The right time, the right place,  
The present struck Surfer, right square in the face.  
He opened it up, and inside found some snacks,  
a new set of goggles, and surfboard wax.  
To Cecil, they delivered a new serving tray.  
To Mike, a new mike (to the town's dismay)  
To Hack and Slash, a monkey wrench, and Frisket got a bone.  
And finally, Jareth's work complete, he dropped Bob off at home.  
But as he flew back to Hexadecimal's place,  
He thought of the look that would be on Bob's face.  
For in his living room, Jareth left a surprise  
a new karaoke machine was Bob's prize.  
Back home at last, Jareth dug in his sack,  
and pulled out the very last thing in his pack.  
A gift for his sister, the best saved for last,  
a very small statue, of stone it was cast.  
Shaped like a Null, and a cute one at that  
"A much better gift than a mangy old rat."  
Jareth then stumbled on off to his spot,  
Hexadecimal's couch was his usual cot.  
And just like that, Jareth was out like a light  
For dawn was now coming, and gone was the night.  
But in every house, with the tree right above,  
was one extra present, "From Jareth, with love." 


	6. The Electra Chronicles

Author's Note: Credit be given to my co-author in crime, Electra Prompt, for her contribution to this chapter. Thanks, Lecca!  
  
  
  
Chapter Five: The Electra Chronicles  
  
"Alright, Hex, pick a hand," Jareth held out his hands, fists closed.  
  
"Okay," Hex said, looking from one hand to the other. "I choose... that one!" Hex pointed to Jareth's right hand.  
  
"Good choice!" Jareth switched to a grinning mask, and dropped a small object into Hex's outstretched hand.  
  
Hex's face lit up. "Oh, Jareth! You found it!"  
  
Jareth laughed. "Yep, it was lying where the Tor used to be before the Restart."  
  
Hex gave Jareth a look. "Why wasn't it deleted when the system restarted?"  
  
"I dunno." Jareth plucked it from Hex's hand. "Remember how much fun we had with this last time? I thought we'd never see it again."  
  
Hex grinned. "I bet Bob and the others were HOPING never to see it again."  
  
Jareth gave the small device back to Hexadecimal. "What are you going to do with it?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know... I'm sure I'll think of something." Hex started to walk towards the window  
  
"Hey... where are you going?"  
  
"Oh... I thought I'd stop by the Diner, see what our friends are up to."  
  
"Don't let them see that. It's not going to make them happy."  
  
Hex laughed. "Don't worry... I won't." Hex Mask-teleported out the window, leaving Jareth standing alone in the Lair.  
  
"Have fun..." Jareth said, gazing out the window after her.  
  
* * *  
  
"Do-ooot..."  
  
Dot Matrix looked up, recognizing the voice before she saw the face that went with it. Only one person in Mainframe tended to stretch names so hauntingly.  
  
"Hello Hex," she said, "What are you up to today?"  
  
"Oh, not much. It's been very boring around here lately. When are we going to the Supercomputer?"  
  
"I'm working on the plan right now. We've got to find a way to get in without being spotted, so Mouse and I are trying to come up with some sort of cloaking... Hex? Are you listening?"  
  
Hex looked back at Dot. She had been staring at the ceiling. "Oh... Yes. Yes, I have been listening. We are still going, aren't we? Jareth and I are SO looking forward to seeing Mother again..."  
  
Dot sighed. "And that's another thing. If Jareth comes with us, how can we be sure he won't take Daemon's side? He is still half viral."  
  
"And what am I?"  
  
"Yes, but you're not dangerous anymore. Well... not quite AS dangerous as Jareth is."  
  
Hex pondered that. "Couldn't Bob help him, the way he helped me?"  
  
Dot removed her glasses and started rubbing the bridge of her nose. "No, I'm afraid he already tried. It had no effect."  
  
"Oh. Well, do you have any ideas?"  
  
"Not a one."  
  
Hexadecimal sighed, then turned towards the entrance as a binome burst in, ringing the bell above the door.  
  
"Ms. Matrix," the binome said, sorely out of breath, "I think... there's something... you should see... A portal.... just opened..."  
  
"Which way?" asked Dot. The binome pointed.  
  
Dot, followed closely by Hexadecimal, started off towards the portal. As she exited the Diner, she ran face first into Bob.  
  
"Hey! Dot? What--"  
  
"Shut up and follow."  
  
Bob followed.  
  
* * *  
  
Electra stepped out of the portal and looked around.  
  
"It's almost exactly how I remembered it," she said in a low whisper.  
  
"Freeze Virus!" a gruff sounding voice shouted. Electra suddenly felt the barrel of a gun press against her back.  
  
"Do you have any idea who I am?" Electra said with a growl.  
  
"No, and I don't care. You're a virus."  
  
Electra mouthed a quick command to her Keytool. "BuBBle-- Containment Field." Instantly, a crystal-clear bubble appeared around Matrix.  
  
"I wouldn't shoot in there if I were you... That bubble would reflect it right back at you."  
  
"How in the Motherboard did you get a Keytool?" Matrix asked, surprised. His eye swiveled back to it's original position.  
  
"I have two, thank you very much... If you promise to be a good boy, I'll introduce you to Jet," Electra smirked.  
  
"I'll never su..."  
  
"Hey what's going on there?" Bob's voice rang out. Electra toyed innocently with her hair as the chrome plated Guardian walked over to her.  
  
"Oooh, Bob.... It's a viral sprite," Hexadecimal's voice rang out and she appeared beside Electra.  
  
"Um... Hi. Could you release my friend?" Bob asked.  
  
"But BOB!"  
  
"Matrix, no complaining." Matrix frowned, but shut up anyway.  
  
"BuBBle, release field." With a sound like glass shattering, the Containment Field dissolved.  
  
Hex's eyes widened. "BuBBle? Is that you Electra My, you've grown."  
  
"No, Hex, I haven't. That's just your mind playing tricks on you."  
  
"Oh. Well, it's still good to have you back. And Jareth will be so happy to see you."  
  
"Jareth's still here?"  
  
"Of course he is... I'm going to go tell him right now."  
  
Electra suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Yeah. Catch up with you later Hex." With a flash of light, Hexadecimal disappeared.  
  
Electra looked down at her shoes. "Um... Bob. Take me to Phong."  
  
Bob was surprised she knew so much about the city. "Don't you know where Phong is?"  
  
"Fine. I'll go look for him myself."  
  
* * *  
  
Phong's head snapped up as the Principle Office's alarms activated, signaling an unauthorized entry.  
  
"Oh dear...," the old Command.Com said, punching a few buttons on his console and bringing up a visual of the intruder. His hand automatically went to the button that would activate the security systems, but he paused when he saw who the intruder was.  
  
Moments later, the doors to Phong's office opened, and Electra entered, looking just as she had when he had last seen her.  
  
"Hello my child," he said, smiling kindly at Electra. "How have you been? For that matter, WHERE have you been?"  
  
"Hi Phong. I've been... busy. How's everything? And what happened to Hex's face?"  
  
"Hex's face was mended by Bob... does he know you're here? He'll be very glad to meet you."  
  
Electra grinned. "I saw him as I was coming in. So, what's new? Is a Megabyte still terrorizing everyone?"  
  
"No. Megabyte has been deleted."  
  
"Deleted? What else have I missed? You're not hiding a wife and family somewhere, are you Phong?"  
  
Phong laughed. "No, my child. Perhaps I should... bring you up to speed."  
  
* * *  
  
"Oh, Jaaaaareth..." Hexadecimal swooped into the Lair through the usual entrance, the window.  
  
"Hi, Hex. Don't you ever use the door?"  
  
Hex gave Jareth a perplexed look. "The Lair doesn't have a door, Jareth"  
  
"Oh, yeah... Maybe we should build one. We could put it over--"  
  
"Jareth, you'll never guess who's back," Hexadecimal interrupted.  
  
"Megabyte?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Bob?"  
  
"Ages ago."  
  
"Elvis?"  
  
"Who's Elvis?"  
  
"I give up. Who?"  
  
"I don't know who Elvis is?"  
  
"No, I mean, who's back?"  
  
"Electra."  
  
"ELECTRA?"  
  
"Viral sprite, twin Keytools, about this big..."  
  
Jareth switched to an annoyed mask. "I KNOW who she is. She's really back? As in, HERE?"  
  
"I believe she said she was going to visit Phong... are you going to go see her?"  
  
"I dunno... it's been a while."  
  
"You should go see her." Hex grinned. "I think she likes you."  
  
"Everybody says that."  
  
Hex shrugged. "Maybe it's true. You'd make a could couple."  
  
Jareth vanished into his mask, which went spinning out of the room.  
  
"AND YOU KNOW IT, TOO!" Hex called. She sat down on her throne and stroked Scuzzy. "This... should be interesting."  
  
* * *  
  
The Past....  
  
Electra sat up. Her mother had been yelling at her for milliseconds, trying to wake her up.  
  
"Electra! Get up. Kit just called... She wants you to meet her at Chu's Diner!"  
  
"YES, MOTHER!" Electra looked over to her mirror. "I hate my hair in the morning." She said. She picked up her comb and tried to unknot her long black hair. It's strange white tint shone through when the light caught it just right.  
  
"And don't forget, you ARE going to school today. I don't want another call from your principal saying you were in a fight, or were caught skipping."  
  
"YES, MOTHER!" Electra sighed and double clicked her icon, to change into her school uniform. She looked at herself in the mirror again and rolled her eyes. She hated her school uniform.  
  
"Electra?" Electra rolled her eyes again. "Are you ready?"  
  
"Yes mother." Electra walked out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Kit looked out the window, waiting for Electra. She finally spotted her, but with a guy from their school, 3D. They stopped for a second, then Electra walked on alone into the diner.  
  
"So... Who's Ms. Guy Magnet going out with next cycle?" Kit asked.  
  
"No one."  
  
"But I saw you with..."  
  
"No one... he's such a jerk anyway."  
  
"Well, if you're looking for a nice guy, then what about Jareth?" Kit smiled smugly.  
  
"Jareth... he's a User. I guess if you go for that type..."  
  
"Oh, I do. I do."  
  
"Fine then, you go out with him," Electra smirked.  
  
"Wha? I wouldn't be seen dead with him. I have more important guys to look out for."  
  
"Like Backslash?" Electra grinned.  
  
"I don't have to sit here and be insulted."  
  
"No, you don't... since we're late for school, you can be insulted on the way."  
  
Electra stood up, and Kit followed her as she walked out of the diner.  
  
In the booth directly behind the one Kit and Electra had just vacated, Jareth finished off the last of his meal. He turned to watch as the two girls left the Diner.  
  
"Hmmm." He placed a few units down on the table and walked out.  
  
* * *  
  
` The Present...  
  
Night fell upon Mainframe. Timesprite wandered aimlessly down the seemingly endless alleys of Level 31, searching for something to alleviate her ever-growing boredom. It seemed like it had been forever since the system restarted, bringing her back to life after so many minutes of deletion. Actually, it had been less than a cycle, but one of the drawbacks of being chaotic was an unreliable memory.  
  
Timesprite sighed. Maybe something interesting would happen soon. She had heard that Electra was back in town. Maybe she could go and listen to some of her stories. She had always wondered what Electra had done, where she had gone after she left Mainframe.  
  
Without warning, a small black object went spinning past Timesprite, heading in the vague direction of Al's Wait 'N' Eat. Timesprite turned the corner in time to see it fly through the restaurant's entrance.  
  
Timesprite entered, wondering if it had been what she thought it was. Sure enough, there, sitting at the bar, was Jareth. Timesprite wandered through the crowded room and sat down next to him.  
  
"Hey Jareth."  
  
Jareth started at the sound of his name. Level 31 was renowned for being the worst neighborhood in Mainframe, and he hadn't thought a Virus would draw too much attention here. He hadn't realized that the other Virals in Mainframe might be hanging out here as well.  
  
"Hello Timey. What's up?"  
  
Timesprite looked up. "The ceiling, the rafters, the--"  
  
Jareth held up his hand. "Please. You have no idea how sick I am of that joke."  
  
Timesprite shot him a perplexed look. "What joke?"  
  
"The joke that... never mind."  
  
Timesprite shrugged and started digging into the complementary chips that were set on the bar. "So, what brings you to Level 31?"  
  
"Nothing much. I've just been thinking. You know Electra's back in town?"  
  
"I heard. I thought about going to see her, ask about her adventures... Have you talked to her yet?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"It's just... I..."  
  
"You Like her?"  
  
"I do not!"  
  
"You Like her. I think--"  
  
"If you're going to say you think we make a good couple, skip it. I've already been through that today."  
  
"How long have you known Electra, anyway? You knew here before I came to Mainframe, right?"  
  
"Oh yeah. We've been friends ever since we were little kids..."  
  
"So this isn't anything new?"  
  
Jareth sighed. "No..."  
  
The Past...  
  
The bell rang. Jareth looked at the school gates as students quickly filtered out. There were a few sprites that went slower than the rest, among them was Kit who happily walked along with some boys in the direction of the diner. Electra followed her slowly... very slowly. Jareth didn't have to walk that much to catch up with her.  
  
"Hello Electra."  
  
Electra jumped, startled. She hadn't realized she was being followed. "Hello Jareth."  
  
"I was in the diner last cycle," Jareth said, walking backwards so he could face her. Electra blushed bright red for a second, no easy task for someone with green skin.  
  
"Oh... were you?" she said as calmly as she could. "I didn't see you."  
  
"I saw you. Actually, I was sitting behind you."  
  
"You wouldn't be listening in on other sprite's conversation, now would you?"  
  
"No, of course not." Jareth said, his fingers crossed behind his back.  
  
"Well... Maybe I'll see you around then," Electra said, walking past him and into the Diner.  
  
(You both sounded pretty insecure.)  
  
(Well, we were just kids.)  
  
(And this was all before the Twin City incident?)  
  
(Yeah. Way before. Everything changed after that...)  
  
In a newly decorated room, a sleeping Electra tossed and turned in her sleep. She hadn't slept well since the crash. Maybe it was because of the burns that hadn't healed yet. Maybe it was because she felt somewhat guilty about what happened to Jareth. Electra rolled over again, knocking a picture off the night stand. Jareth picked it up and recognized it.  
  
It was a picture of him and Electra taken a long time ago.  
  
(What were you doing in her room? And didn't she notice you?)  
  
(Quiet... I was getting to that.)  
  
"What are you doing here?" Electra growled.  
  
(Jareth... I think you skipped a bit.)  
  
(Did I? Oh, so I did.)  
  
Jareth was looking at the picture when Electra sat up. "What are you doing here?" Electra growled.  
  
(Better?)  
  
(Much.)  
  
"Easy, easy, I only wanted to talk to you." Jareth switched masks, smiling warmly. He hoped she'd believe him... She didn't.  
  
"Out," she said, sliding out of her bed.  
  
"Come on. Why can't we just talk like we used to?"  
  
"You're different now, if you haven't noticed." Electra said, picking up her sword from the floor beside her bed.  
  
"I noticed. Are you planning to skewer me?" Jareth smirked.  
  
"Only if you come closer."  
  
Jareth deliberately took one step towards Electra. Electra raised the sword a little.  
  
"Calm down."  
  
"Calm down? Are you crazy? I'm in my room with a Virus! A Virus who used to be my friend."  
  
"Why can't I still be a friend?" Jareth moved a little closer, and Electra got ready to strike, but instead dropped the sword.  
  
"Look. Just get out."  
  
(Did you end up leaving on you own free will?)  
  
(No, she kicked me out... Literally.)  
  
* * *  
  
The Present...  
  
Electra climbed through the window of Hexadecimal's Lair, trying not to tear her clothing on the edges as she did.  
  
"Hello Electra," said Hex, watching her in amusement. "I should really get a door, shouldn't I?" she asked. The Lair was normally accessible only to those who could fly.  
  
"It might help." Electra hopped down from the windowsill. "Is Jareth around?"  
  
"Jareth? No, but he should be here soon."  
  
"Do you want me to find him?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sure if we wait around long enough, he's bound to show up eventually."  
  
Electra sighed. "It's probably better that he's not here. I'm not completely sure why I'm looking for him."  
  
"Electra? How did you become viral?" Hex asked, completely out of the blue.  
  
"Rather blunt, aren't you Hex?"  
  
"You could say that. How did it happen? You weren't a viral when we first me, were you?"  
  
"Alright Hex, sit down and I'll tell you."  
  
* * *  
  
The Past...  
  
Jareth walked into the Diner, ringing the bell that hung above the door. Electra glared at him from her booth.  
  
"Kit. Electra." Jareth walked up to them.  
  
"What do you want Virus? Are you going to follow me everywhere now?"  
  
(Do you have to do the actions?)  
  
(I am? Oh my.)  
  
(And why did you call Jareth names?? You're half-viral too...)  
  
(Hex...)  
  
(Yes?)  
  
(I didn't know what I was going to do, and I wasn't viral yet. Now don't interrupt.)  
  
(Okay.)  
  
"Hex is throwing some sort of party tonight at the Lair. You and Kit are invited. Please come." His message delivered, Jareth wandered off to another part of the Diner.  
  
(Oh, the Party.... what party?)  
  
(Think of it this way. You, me, Jareth, and Kit. Tea party.)  
  
(Oh yes... I really must have another one of those. So what happened next?)  
  
(You mean at the party?)  
  
"You've been staring at him all cycle," Kit exclaimed.  
  
"Well, not all cycle... I mean... Who?"  
  
"Jareth... who else?"  
  
"Actually I've been look at these biscuits Hex made. Look... they're little Jareths."  
  
Kit flashed her an 'Oh, please.' look.  
  
"Alright... maybe I glanced a few times. But do you remember? He became hands off when he became viral."  
  
"Then uninfected him, or find another way to be together."  
  
"He can't be uninfected. It was the Guardian who merged with the virus, not the other way around. If I tried to split him, there'd be no Jareth left in him at all, just Lore."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, but there has to be another way."  
  
"No... Unless..."  
  
(So what did you do?)  
  
(Well... Do you have any more of those Jareth cookies?)  
  
(I think so.)  
  
* * *  
  
Dot Matrix studied the vidwindows that were arranged in front of her, all of them displaying 3-Dimensional maps of the Supercomputer. Possible weak points, armories, and Guardian barracks were indicated by small blinking lights.  
  
The others who were present in the P.O.'s control room waited to hear Dot's plan. Nearly all the sprites in Mainframe were present, including several Webriders who had been recruited by Bob at the last minute.  
  
"Wait a minute...," Dot said, "Not everyone's here. Where's Hex? And Jareth?"  
  
"Electra and Timesprite are missing too," AndrAIa said.  
  
"I think I can round them up... just gimme a few nanos," Kit said. Without waiting for a reply, she turned and headed out.  
  
Dot sighed and turned back to her charts. Soon, the attack would begin...  
  
* * *  
  
"And that's the whole story. What do you think I should do?" Jareth asked. He turned away from his drink and faced Timesprite.  
  
"I think you should talk to her. You do care about her, right?"  
  
"Yes. I think I do. It's just--"  
  
"I'm sorry. I have to ask this. How the Motherboard do you drink that?" Timesprite gestured towards Jareth's drink.  
  
"This? It's not so bad."  
  
"No, I mean HOW do you drink it? You haven't got a mouth."  
  
"Oh, that. Well--"  
  
"Jareth!" Kit's voice resounded throughout the nearly empty bar.  
  
"Kit?" Jareth turned as Kit entered the building.  
  
"Hello Kit," Timesprite said. "What brings you to Level 31?"  
  
"You do. Dot's planning the attack on the Supercomputer. She wants everyone who's going to report to the P.O, ASAP."  
  
"What's the P.O.A.S.A.P.?" Jareth asked.  
  
Kit sighed and rolled her eyes at the ceiling. "The Principle Office, Jareth. If you're going, get there." Kit turned and left the bar, muttering something about 'Crazy Viruses'.  
  
Timesprite turned back to Jareth. "Well?"  
  
"Well what? The Supercomputer awaits." Jareth vanished into his mask and went spinning out of the restaurant.  
  
Timesprite used the door.  
  
* * *  
  
Hex held out a tray to Electra. It was laden with biscuits and cookies shaped like all sorts of sprites and binomes, including Megabytes and Jareths.  
  
"Thanks Hex." Electra took one of the Jareth cookies and bit it's head off.  
  
"So, where were we?"  
  
"We were at the part--"  
  
"Hex!"  
  
Hexadecimal and Electra turned to the window, where a struggling Kit was attempting to climb into the Lair through the window.  
  
"Hex... can I make a suggestion?" she asked.  
  
"Get a door?" asked Electra.  
  
Kit nodded and dropped to the floor. "Dot wants everyone to report to the P.O."  
  
"Why?" asked Electra.  
  
"Mouse found a way to get into the Supercomputer without setting off any alarms. So Dot wants to go over the plan before we attack."  
  
"Yes... I must have a chat with Mother... did you know she attacked Jareth?" Hex asked Electra.  
  
"No. Why? When was that?" asked Electra.  
  
"Not long ago. When she heard that there were Guardians who escaped her infection, she sent a bunch of aero-drone things to attack the system. Jareth showed up on their scanners as a Guardian, so they went after him too," Kit explained.  
  
"Yes... I mean to ask her about that. Let's go," Hex said. She vanished into her mask and floated out of the Lair.  
  
"Why can't they just walk like everyone else?" Kit asked.  
  
"Beats me," Electra shrugged. "Now, how do we get out of here?"  
  
* * *  
  
After half a cycle passed, Kit and Electra finally managed to get to the Principle Office... grumbling.  
  
"I wish I could do that mask-teleporting thing," Electra said.  
  
"I should have brought a zip board," Kit replied. She keyed in the access code and opened the P.O.'s security doors.  
  
"It's about time you two got here," Dot announced to Kit and Electra as the entered the room.  
  
"Sorry... We sort of had trouble trying to get out of Hex's window," Kit said, sighing.  
  
Accepting this, if not completely understanding it, Dot gestured to Mouse to begin.  
  
"Ah'm going to be able to turn the Supercomputer's alarms off for three nanos," Mouse said. "But no longer than that. So we'll have to get to the rebel sector pretty quick. Which reminds me... Where is this rebel sector?"  
  
Electra pointed it out on the map.  
  
"There," she said. "A few of the Viruses are jealous of Daemon and were planning an uprising. The trouble was, they'd have to deal with the entire Guardian Collective before they could even make it to her."  
  
AndrAIa looked up from her console. "Maybe you should call them, and let them know that reinforcements are on the way."  
  
"Good idea," Electra said. She walked over to the communicator and dialed up her contacts.  
  
While Electra was making the call, Dot announced the rest of the plan. She informed everyone that they'd leave in a cycle.  
  
"You hear that, GigAnate?" Electra asked. The slender Chaotic Virus grinned back at her from the screen.  
  
"That's great Electra. I'll tell the others," GigAnate said. "When are you coming?"  
  
"We leave for the Supercomputer in a cycle."  
  
"Okay. What will you do 'till then?"  
  
"I thought I'd see if my old place is still around. Later GigAnate."  
  
As Electra switched off the Vidwindow, she felt a familiar pair of eyes on her back.  
  
She turned around and there stood Jareth.  
  
"Um... Hi... Jareth...," Electra stuttered.  
  
"Hi Electra."  
  
"Well... I'll see you later," Electra quickly walked off before Jareth could say anything more.  
  
Jareth watched as Electra left the P.O. Hex walked up to stand beside him.  
  
"I don't get it Hex. The girl lives in the Supercomputer. She walks on the same streets with Viruses and infected Guardians every day. But every time she sees me, she takes off like a frightened Null."  
  
"She likes you."  
  
"Oh, shut up," Jareth said.  
  
* * *  
  
Electra wandered through the streets of Mainframe, heading in the general direction of her old apartment. She was shocked to find it still standing, and even more shocked to find that the doors were still keyed to her code.  
  
Apparently, no one had been living here since she left.  
  
A sudden fluttering noise made her jump, but when she turned around she saw nothing.  
  
"Get ahold of yourself Electra. You're losin' it." Electra turned and entered the building. "You're even talking to yourself."  
  
Back in her old room, she began to sort through some of her old things. The entire apartment was covered in a thick layer of dust. She sneezed.  
  
"Bless you."  
  
Electra gasped and spun around. There stood Jareth, his wings spread behind him. That explained the fluttering noise.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked.  
  
"I followed you." Jareth picked up a picture from one of the tables and dusted it off. "I used to come her a lot, right after you left. But I haven't been here in a long time."  
  
"Why are you following me? What do you want?"  
  
"Electra? Why did you leave Mainframe?"  
  
"I... wanted adventure. I was bored."  
  
"That's what you told everyone. But why did you really leave?"  
  
Electra looked at him, but didn't say anything.  
  
Jareth sighed. "We can still be friends, 'Lectra. Think about it." Jareth tossed the picture to Electra, who caught it. Electra looked down. It was the same picture, the one of the two of them as children.  
  
"Jareth..." Electra began, but when she looked up, he was gone.  
  
The next day...  
  
Electra quickly ran through the Principle Office's double doors.  
  
"You're late Electra...," Dot said.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
Dot shrugged, then headed for the conference room.  
  
Kit looked up at Electra as she walked over.  
  
"You've changed your clothes," Kit said.  
  
"Yeah, what of it?"  
  
"Aren't they the clothes you...?"  
  
"Yes, they are."  
  
* * *  
  
The Past...  
  
"Do we really have to continue this?" Jareth asked as he ducked to miss the swipe of Electra's sword. Electra executed a quick back flip and shouted a command to her Keytool.  
  
"Jet-- Crossbow!" Before JAreth could react, she shot him square in the chest.  
  
"Don't worry. It's only a stun arrow," Electra said as Jareth sunk into a deep slumber. "BuBBle--code extractor."  
  
Electra kneeled down next to Jareth. "Copy and Download Viral programming." BuBBle beeped, and a stream of green diamonds flowed from Jareth's Icon to Electra's.  
  
Electra screamed as the Viral programming ben to integrate with her code. Roused by her screaming, Jareth awakened. His vision cleared just in time to see Electra hit the ground.  
  
"Electra? What did you do?" He picked her up and, unfolding his wings, carried her off towards the Principle Office.  
  
* * *  
  
"Now Jareth, tell me what happened, we can't help her if we don't know what attacked her," Phong explained.  
  
"I didn't see it, she had used a stun arrow on me, by the time I woke up she was fainting."  
  
"Are you sure, Jareth? Are you sure... you didn't do it?"  
  
"Yes Phong. Well... pretty sure."  
  
"Phong! Her condition is Changing," A binome in a doctor's uniform called out.  
  
Both Jareth and Phong rushed in. Electra lay on a hospital bed, tossing and turning restlessly. With a green shimmer, Electra's Icon changed from Black-and-white to Purple-and-black.  
  
"She's turning viral!" Exclaimed the binome.  
  
The binome and Phong glared at Jareth.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
Phong and the binome continued to glare at Jareth.  
  
"I didn't do anything, I swear!"  
  
"He didn't do it, I did." They turned around to see Electra, crouching on the bed as if she was about to pounce. Her black hair with it's strange white tint looked wild and unkempt, and she had developed claws and fangs. Her perfect blue eyes seemed almost innocent alongside her wild hair.  
  
Jareth looked at her, stunned. "Electra...?"  
  
Electra jumped through the window and ran off.  
  
Phong sighed. "Tell Security we have a new Virus on our hands."  
  
* * *  
  
The Present...  
  
"So how come you changed back?" Kit asked. "I thought you liked that new outfit better."  
  
Electra shrugged and changed the subject. "Come on, we'll be late."  
  
"We're already late," Kit said, but followed anyway.  
  
The two sprites entered the conference room, where most of the others had already gathered.  
  
Mouse was typing at one of the workstation consoles, presumably trying to hack the Supercomputer's security network. AndrAIa stood nearby, watching her work. Dot and Bob were standing off to one side, discussing the plan for the attack. Matrix was cleaning his Gun, and Hack and Slash were arguing about cheese.  
  
"Why cheese?" Kit asked of no one in particular as they passed.  
  
"Why not cheese?" Electra replied.  
  
Unable to argue with her logic, Kit shrugged.  
  
"Gavin and his crew are preparing the ship," she said to Electra. "We'll be taking the Saucy Mare, except for Mouse and Dot. They'll be taking Ship."  
  
Electra looked around the room. "Where's Jareth?"  
  
"He and Hex already left. They said they'd meet us there."  
  
"Electra? Could you come here for a moment, please?" Dot asked. Electra walked over to her.  
  
"I need you to contact the Rebels again. Tell them to meet us here." She pointed to a position on the Holo-display.  
  
"Okay," Electra said. She walked over to the communicator and punched a few buttons.  
  
Mouse, done with her hacking, walked over to Dot. "Why aren't we stickin' to the original plane?"  
  
"In case anyone here has been leaking out plans to Daemon. Think about it. Jareth and Hexadecimal are Daemon's children. They might decide to side with her."  
  
"And they also left ahead of everyone else," Mouse agreed. "Do you think they might be settin' up an ambush?"  
  
"A last minute change of plans should throw them off if they are, and if not, well..."  
  
Mouse shrugged. She held up a small disc-shaped object and handed it to Dot. "This command will blank out the Supercomputer's defense grid. I can't say how long it'll work, so we'll have to get to the rebel sector in a hurry."  
  
"Thanks Mouse." Dot turned back to Electra, who was just finishing the call.  
  
"New rendezvous coordinates set," GigAnate said. Electra reached over to terminate the connection. "By the way, Electra... I like the outfit."  
  
* * *  
  
"That's the last of the supplies Lass. We be ready to shove off."  
  
"Thanks Gavin," Dot said.  
  
The pirate binomes loaded the last of the crates onto the deck. They seemed to be having a little more trouble carrying this one than they had with the others, probably because this one had an Enzo on top of it.  
  
High up in the sky above the harbor, a silver sphere suddenly appeared. Two forms, on black and one red, flew out as the portal disappeared.  
  
"Honey, we're ho-ooome..." Jareth called out in a singsong voice, touching down on the deck. He folded his wings to his back and leaned against one of the crates.  
  
"Where's Hex going?" Dot asked. While Jareth had landed, Hexadecimal had shot across the sky towards Lost Angles.  
  
"She said she needed to get something from the Lair."  
  
Enzo jumped down from the top of the crate Jareth was leaning on. "This is gonna be alphanumeric! I finally get to see the Supercomputer!"  
  
Dot turned to him. "Oh, no, you don't. Go back to the Diner, Enzo."  
  
"Oh, but Dot--"  
  
"No arguments. Go."  
  
"Hey, Sis," Matrix said, walking over to them. "Gavin says we're ready to go."  
  
"I know. We'll leave in a nano."  
  
"But Dot! I want to come too!"  
  
"No way. The Supercomputer is crawling with Viruses," Dot said. "You stay here."  
  
"But I want to come! Why can't I come along?"  
  
"It's too dangerous. Ask anyone."  
  
"Jareth?" Enzo asked.  
  
"I say let him come," Jareth said.  
  
Enzo grinned. Jareth had just made a friend for life.  
  
"What if the Virals attack Mainframe again, Dot?" Matrix asked. "I think he might actually be safer with us."  
  
"Frisket can stay with him."  
  
"No way," Matrix shook his head. "Frisket's coming with me."  
  
"Fine. Hack! Slash!"  
  
The two robots came rolling up to Dot.  
  
"Yes Dot?"  
  
"What can we do for you?"  
  
"How can we be of service?"  
  
Dot couldn't help but grin at the pair's overlapping dialogue. "I want you two to stay behind and look after Enzo."  
  
"Yes Ma'am!"  
  
"Don't' worry about a thing!"  
  
"It shall be done!"  
  
Hack and Slash rolled over to Enzo. Each grabbed an arm, and together, they dragged him, kicking and screaming, off the ship.  
  
"Now then. Shall we be off?" Dot asked.  
  
"Not yet. We still have to wait for Hex," Jareth said.  
  
"All right. I'm going below deck. Let me know when she gets here."  
  
"Wait for me," Matrix said.  
  
As Dot and Matrix went below deck, Electra and Kit emerged, arguing about something. They stopped when they saw Jareth sitting on the crate and staring up at the sky.  
  
"What's he doin?" Kit asked.  
  
"I dunno. Looking at clouds?"  
  
"Well, let's go find out."  
  
"Let's not," Electra said, glaring at Kit.  
  
"Oh, come on." Kit grabbed Electra by the arm and dragged her over to where Jareth stood.  
  
* * *  
  
"No... no... I KNOW it's here somewhere..." Hexadecimal yanked open another drawer and began searching through it, tossing objects over her shoulders as she went. A large pile of assorted objects was rapidly growing on the floor behind her.  
  
Scuzzy entered the room and headed straight for Hex. He nudged her leg, an object in his mouth.  
  
"Thank you Scuzzy!" Hex reached down and took it from him. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING SOONER?!"  
  
Scuzzy, terrified, ran from the room.  
  
"Oh well." Hex examined her outfit. "Hmmm... now where can I... keep it?"  
  
* * *  
  
"What are you doing?" Electra quickly asked, then grabbed Kit's arm. "There, we asked, let's go."  
  
"Na-ah. I want to hear his answer," Kit replied back, just as quickly, Electra sighed and let go of Kit.  
  
"Just thinking really," Jareth's reply came dreamily. Electra waved her hand in front of his face, but he caught it. "I'm not daydreaming that much." He looked at Electra.  
  
"Kit, sugah! You're needed!" Mouse's voice rang out.  
  
"Uh, I'll be back later... You two have fun." Kit turned and walked off. Electra stuck her tongue out at her.  
  
"I..." Jareth was interrupted by a portal opening above them. Four figures jumped out and landed on the deck. Electra rolled her eyes at them.  
  
"Electra. You asked us to come, did you not?"  
  
"Yes, GigAnate, but I--" Electra quickly grabbed GigAnate aside and began talking to her in a harsh whisper. "--didn't ask you to bring Macro and Rachel, for crying out loud! The guy has a crush on me, and as soon as Rachel sees what I'm wearing, she's going to question me about it... You know I hate her fashion criticism." Electra's voice quickly went from a whisper to a whine.  
  
"I know, I know. But..."  
  
"No buts! Where's Catheryn when you need her?"  
  
"I brought Emily."  
  
"Emily? Where?" Electra looked over to Emily, who was sort of checking out Jareth. She walked over to Electra.  
  
"Nice looking guy, wonder what he looks like under the mask."  
  
"There's nothing under the mask. At least, I don't think there is."  
  
"Really?" Emily asked. "How does that work?"  
  
Dot walked up the steps and joined them. "Ah, so these are the rebels."  
  
"Yes Dot," Electra said. "This is Macro..."  
  
"Charmed to meet you, madam," Macro said, bowing and bringing Dot's hand up to meet his kiss.  
  
"Nice to meet you."  
  
"Ahem. And these are Emily and Rachel Hotkey."  
  
"Hi," Rachel said. Emily waved.  
  
"Hello." Dot smiled at them.  
  
"And this is GigAnate, Second in Charge of the rebel virals. As you can guess, there aren't many. Hexanate and Daemon either eliminated or corrupted most of the virals in the Supercomputer."  
  
"Who's First in Charge?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Hexanate?" Dot asked, at the exact same time.  
  
"Hexanate, my mother, and unfortunately, Daemon's closest friend," GigAnate sighed.  
  
"Your mother?"  
  
"Who's going to answer my question?" Jareth asked impatiently.  
  
"You five probably want to plan it all out now... So run along then." Electra practically shooed them off.  
  
"Are you going to answer my question?" Jareth asked again.  
  
"Yes, Jareth. Macro and I are First in Charge. Unfortunately."  
  
"You don't like the guy, do you?"  
  
"He gives me the creeps. There's just something sinister about him. But, let's get back to our conversation."  
  
"Right. What were we talking about again?"  
  
"Ummm..."  
  
At that moment, Dot walked back over to the two of them. Jareth wondered briefly whether she was getting tired from running all over the ship like this. Probably not, he decided. Dot was used to running around and taking charge of things. Maybe she just drank a lot of coffee. Wait... she was saying something...  
  
"Have you two got everything?"  
  
"Everything but my sister," Jareth said.  
  
"She still hasn't gotten back? Did she forget what she went there for?"  
  
In a flash of light, Hexadecimal appeared behind Dot. "Oh, ye of little faith, Dot," The Virus said, grinning.  
  
Dot jumped. "Don't DO that!" she snapped.  
  
"Did you find it Hex?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Yes Jareth. Here, you have pockets. Carry it for me?"  
  
"Sure." Hex handed the small object over to Jareth, who placed it into his seemingly infinite coat pocket.  
  
"Is everyone ready to shove off?" Dot asked.  
  
"Yes, Dot," Hex replied. Jareth nodded.  
  
"Good." Dot called up to Gavin, who was standing on the platform, just behind the steering wheel. "We're ready to go, Captain!"  
  
"Aye Lass," the Captain called back down to her.  
  
Dot, followed by Mouse, quickly disembarked. Halfway down the gangplank, Dot turned. "Oh, and Jareth? Help Bob keep Matrix in line. He doesn't like working with Virals."  
  
"Believe me, I know," Jareth replied.  
  
Dot grinned, then hurried down to the docks.  
  
Without any further ado, the Saucy Mare pulled out of the port.  
  
"Hoist the sails!" The Captain called. One by one, the floating energy sails deployed out over the bow. As soon as they were all raised, the ship sped off toward the horizon.  
  
"So, how exactly do help keep him 'In line', Jareth?" Electra asked, as Matrix walked past. He looked even edgier than usual, and his hand kept creeping toward his gun. Between the Mainframers, Pirates, and Webriders, the lower levels of the saucy Mare were very crowded. Many of them squirmed through the crowd, trying to get wherever they were trying to go. Jareth and Electra stayed well out of the way, in the corner. Jareth leaned against the wall, while Electra crouched on one of the ROM barrels.  
  
"I dunno," Jareth replied. "I guess if he snaps and starts shooting people, I get to kick his ASCII." Electra looked at Matrix, then back to Jareth, who was roughly half his size. "Yeah, right. I'd bet ten units he'd mop the floor with you."  
  
"Wouldn't it be easier to use a mop?"  
  
Electra laughed, but stopped when she realized Jareth wasn't joking.  
  
"Ummm... never mind," She said. "Aren't you two, like, related or something?"  
  
Jareth considered. "I suppose he's my half-brother. Or something. Mom DID use his father's code to create us."  
  
"Us?"  
  
"Hex, Megabyte, and I," Jareth replied.  
  
"Oh. So... Megabyte was his brother, too?"  
  
"Sort of... but I don't think Matrix ever knew that."  
  
"I don't think it would have made any difference if he had," Electra said.  
  
"You're probably right."  
  
"Electra!" Jareth and Electra turned as Mr. Christopher, Gavin's right-hand man, entered.  
  
"GigAnate wants to see you. He says it's urgent."  
  
"Okay. Thanks." Electra stood up. "Later, Jareth."  
  
Jareth waved at her as she left. As soon as she was gone, he took her seat.  
  
* * *  
  
"What's up?" Electra asked as she entered the conference room. Gavin, GigAnate, and Marco were already gathered there.  
  
"We received an urgent transmission from the Supercomputer, "GigAnate said.  
  
"It seems that the rebel sector is under heavy attack, Lass," Gavin added.  
  
"That's impossible!" Electra said. "Someone must have given Daemon the coordinates."  
  
"Aren't two of Daemon's children aboard?" Macro asked.  
  
"Well, yes, but--"  
  
Gavin looked at Electra sadly. "I'm afraid they'll have to be contained, Lass."  
  
"Contain them? But they wouldn't Hurt a Fly!"  
  
"I'm sorry, My Lady." Macro Reached for Electra's Hand.  
  
"If you want to Contain them, then you'll have to Contain me!"  
  
Giganate was surprised that Electra was defending them. "Electra, Don't be so hard. Just because you Like Jar--"  
  
"No GigAnate, It's not that. For one thing, They're both my friends. But there's more. Jareth and I share the same Viral code. If you think he's dangerous, then what about me?"  
  
Macro Looked at her, horrified.  
  
"That's right, we share the same Viral Code. Why so shocked?"  
  
Macro quickly Whipped out his pair of binders and Locked them on Electra. The twins cuffs not only bound her wrists, but also stop filed the Keytools that sat on her Bracers.  
  
"Macro! What are you doing?!" GigAnate stared, shocked.  
  
"If they all share the same Code, then why not contain her too? Don't forget, I run this show."  
  
"You Wish." Surprising everyone, Electra head butted Macro and ran out of the room. She made it out onto the deck, but didn't get much further before running into Jareth. "Whoa! Where you going? What's wrong? And why are you wearing handcuffs?" Jareth fired questions left, right and center.  
  
"I took your place! But no time for that, We have to find Hex and hide."  
  
"Why? What's going on?"  
  
Electra dragged Jareth further down the hall. The two reached a corner, but just as they were about to turn it, voices crept down the corridor. Jareth and Electra flattened against the wall, trying not to be seen.  
  
"Hex, we're just taking you somewhere... Down stairs. Would you like this Necklace? I found it in the cargo hold, and it looks like it might just fit you."  
  
Electra peeked around just in time to see Hex take a small silver collar from Macro and slip it on. Macro then led her off downstairs.  
  
"...." Electra put her Hand over Jareth's mouth, not that it made much difference. Jareth's mouth never moved anyway. Still, he got the hint.  
  
"No time for that," she said. "The collar she put on makes her unable to use her powers, and it will hurt like Hell if she tries to remove it. I should know, I helped create it."  
  
"Huh. You'd have thought she'd learned her lesson about collars. But what is going on?"  
  
"The rebel sector is under heavy attack, as if somebody told Daemon that that's where all the Rebels are nesting. They blame us, because we all have Daemon's Code."  
  
"Makes sense. But you know we didn't do it."  
  
"Of course I do. It's not your sort of thing to do. It's just..... Un-chaotic."  
  
"Yeah, We should know a lot about tha..."  
  
"There they are! Get them."  
  
Jareth and Electra spun around to see a group of sprites headed their way.  
  
"Uh-oh. They got Matrix to help. Would this be a good time to hide?" Jareth asked. Electra grabbed Jareth's arm and pulled him along.  
  
"I wonder when they bring us the menus?" Hexadecimal asked, to no one in particular. She began to pace slowly back and forth across her cell.  
  
"Psst! Hex!"  
  
Hexadecimal turned. "Jareth? Is that you?"  
  
Jareth's head popped up from behind a barrel. "Yep. It's me."  
  
Electra's head popped up next to him. "We're here to bust you out of here."  
  
"Oh, good. I was feeling a bit ......cramped."  
  
Jareth walked over to the Hex's cell. He tried the door. When it wouldn't open, he turned to Electra. "It won't open," he said.  
  
"That's because it's locked, Jareth. BuBBle--Cutter!" Electra's Keytool transformed into a small saw. Within moments, there were no longer any bars on the cell door. "There. Piece of cake."  
  
Jareth opened the cell door and Hexadecimal walked out.  
  
"You know," she said, looking around the brig appraisingly, "This place really isn't so bad. All it needs is a few mirrors here and there....."  
  
"What do we do about her collar?" Electra asked.  
  
"I broke your binders, I can break hers." Jareth grabbed hold of Hex's collar and quickly snapped it off. "Dude, that thing snapped like a twig. Why didn't you just chuck it, Hex?"  
  
"I thought it looked good on me. Didn't it?"  
  
"Never mind," Electra snapped. "We have to get out of here."  
  
Jareth switched to a contemplative face "You guys go ahead. I'm gonna stick around and have a little fun."  
  
"Oooh, me too!" Hex said.  
  
Electra sighed. "All right, all right. Here's what we'll do. I'll go and see if I can steal one of the lifeboats. You two can provide the distraction. When you see my signal, meet me at the back of the ship."  
  
"I think it's called the Stern," Jareth said.  
  
"Who cares what it's called? You're my distraction. So go distract." Jareth switched to and evil grin. A similar grin spread across Hex's face.  
  
"A distraction... I think we can arrange that." Hex Mask-teleported out of the room, followed closely by Jareth.  
  
"And don't accept jewelry from ANYONE!" Electra yelled after them.  
  
* * *  
  
"Captain!" All the Sprites in the conference room turned as one of the pirates burst into the room. "Captain Capacitor, sir!" Gavin turned from his maps to face the distraught Binome. "Out with it, Lad! What's the matter?"  
  
The pirate tried to regain his breath. "It's Hexadecimal, sir."  
  
"I should have known that cell couldn't hold her," Matrix said. "Have you had any luck finding the other two?"  
  
"No, sir," the Binome said. "No sign of them. They may have gotten off the shi--"  
  
"Mr. Matrix!" Another pirate binome, this one wearing a chef's hat, burst into the room. His entire out fit was covered with food, as was his face. " It's the Virals!" he said. "They're in the Galley!  
  
* * *  
  
Matrix practically kicked down the door to the ship's galley. He drew his Gun, expecting, even hoping for trouble. Frisket entered alongside him, sniffing at the ground and growling threateningly. A few of Capacitor's guards followed them, but stayed back so as not to get in their way.  
  
"Scanning." Matrix's eye spun around in it's socket, glowing a bright red. He began scanning the crates in the Galley, searching for the Virals. The eye even allowed him to see through solid objects. Unfortunately, all he saw was food.  
  
"Hey!, Matrix!"  
  
Matrix spun around. First Jareth's head, then Hex's popped up from behind a row of crates.  
  
"Catch!"  
  
Before Matrix knew what was happening, he was being pelted with an endless barrage of fruit. The other guards moved in behind him, but also ended up being pummeled by produce. Jareth couldn't help but laugh. This was the most fun he'd had all day. Matrix wiped the fruit pulp from his face, trying to get a clear shot at them. But the virals kept pelting him with fruits, vegetables, and the User only knew what else, laughing insanely the whole time.  
  
"You think this is enough of a diversion?" Hex asked, hitting one of the Binomes in the face with an orange.  
  
"Diversion? I thought this was a distraction."  
  
"It's both." Hex reached behind her, but couldn't find any more produce. "Ummm.... Jareth? We seem to be out of fruit."  
  
"Really?" Jareth looked back at the now-empty shelves. "Oh, dear... we are, aren't we?"  
  
Matrix wiped the fruit juice off his face, revealing an angry scowl. He raised his gun and aimed strait for Jareth's head.  
  
"Gun, Command Line. Full Delete...."  
  
*THUNK!*  
  
Suddenly, Matrix's eyes rolled back in his head. Jareth and Hexadecimal watched as he fell to the floor. Behind him, holding a wooden rolling pin, stood Electra.  
  
"I thought you told us to wait for you signal." Jareth said.  
  
"I realized I didn't have one. Come on, let's go." Electra ran out of the galley, followed by Jareth. Moments later, the two returned. Hex was still there, admiring her reflection in one of the frying pans. Electra rolled her eyes as Jareth grabbed Hex's arm and dragged her along.  
  
*****  
  
Moments later, a lifeboat sped across the energy sea. It twisted and turned haphazardly, never heading the same direction twice.  
  
"I thought you said you could drive this thing!" Electra said. "I never said I could drive it well," Jareth replied, yanking the wheel sharply to the left. Electra let out a yelp as she fell to the floor.  
  
"Whoops. Sorry."  
  
"Try steering!"  
  
"You should know better than to stand up in a boat. And I don't see YOU trying to drive this thing."  
  
"Well, anything you can do, I can do bet...."  
  
"Oh, shut up."  
  
Hexadecimal looked from one to the other, watching the argument as if it were a tennis match. "Well," she said, "If it'll stop you two from fighting, I suppose I could always drive for a while," she said.  
  
The silence following that statement lasted for quite a while. Finally, it was broken by a bleep from BuBBle. Electra answered, calling up a communications Vidwindow.  
  
"Calling Electra.... Emergency... Calling Electra...." The strange looking sprite announced.  
  
"I'm here," Electra said.  
  
"Oh. Hello. Wonderful weather we're, we're, we're having today." The sprite seemed to have a small glitch in his program, he kept repeating fragments of his dialogue.  
  
"I thought there was an Emergency, Kas?"  
  
"Oh yes, Boss Man Gone Crazy, crazy, crazy. Told Kas and Kiran to tell Guardians where the sector was. Kas and Kiran never thought it would lead to that, I mean this, this this."  
  
"Boss Man??" Jareth asked.  
  
"What actually is going on?" Electra asked at the exact same time.  
  
"Rebel Sector under attack, attack, attack." the screen started to fade.  
  
"You're breaking up."  
  
"Ack.. ack.. ack." The Vidwindow screen suddenly went black..  
  
"That was a lot of help!" Jareth exclaimed. "What did he mean, Boss Man?"  
  
"Macro. Lousy fink. He set us up. You. Set you up."  
  
"So what do we do?" Hexadecimal asked. She leaned far out over the water, trying to get a better look at the fish.  
  
"For starters, don't fall over the edge," Electra considered. "We could go to my place... Only place that Macro doesn't know about. Well, he doesn't know where it is, anyway. It's perfectly hidden. Built right underneath the Collective."  
  
"Why would you build it there?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Because, they'd never suspect it. That's why only I know how to get there.... It's a secret." Electra smiled. "Of course, you guys are like family, so I'll show you the way." Electra looked out over the sea.  
  
"Now, all I need is a tear...."  
  
Jareth reached into his coat and pulled out a small crystal sphere. He tossed it out over the edge. As soon as it hit the surface of the liquid energy, the crystal exploded, producing a large tear.  
  
"Show off," Electra grumbled. "BuBBle--Portal!"  
  
* * *  
  
Dot Matrix stared aghast at Matrix's face on the Vidwindow. "You did WHAT?"  
  
"Tried to capture them. The captain thought-"  
  
"You tried to lock them up. Why did you try to lock them up? Both Jareth and Hexadecimal have transfinite energy levels. They were two of the strongest sprites we had. Without them, we may not be able to crack Daemon's defenses."  
  
"We received a transmission from the rebels saying that their sector was under attack. The captain thought that since Jareth and Hex are Daemon's children, they might have been the ones who-"  
  
"Uh-huh. And you didn't try to stand up for them?"  
  
Matrix opened his mouth to respond, but Dot cut him off. "Of course not. Listen, I don't care how much you hate Virals. We need their help. Send someone to find them."  
  
"They've disappeared from our scanners. And I don't think-"  
  
"Don't think we need them? Think again. We're dealing with a class seven here. Tell me, have you EVER run across a class seven? I didn't think so. Let me talk to Electra."  
  
"She left with-"  
  
"She's gone, too? So not only have we lost two of the strongest sprites at our disposal, but now our main connection to the Rebel sector is gone too?!"  
  
"Well, yes, but Sis-"  
  
"No buts. Change of plans. Meet Mouse and I at the following coordinates." Dot punched a few keys on her organizer, sending the coordinates to the Saucy Mare. "Meanwhile, I want someone to go out to search for the runaways. Someone they wont run from, like AndrAIa or Surfr. Got it? Dot out."  
  
On his end, Matrix closed the Vidwindow. GigAnate stood off to the side, staring in surprise."Why do I still let her do that?" Matrix asked, to no one in particular.  
  
Gavin spoke to the pirate Binome next to him. "Send for Surfr and AndrAIa. Bring them here." The Binome nodded, then rushed off.  
  
"You're sending them both?"  
  
"Why not?" Gavin asked. "Two heads are better than one, after all."  
  
"Electra still thinks we're out to get her. I don't know much about Jareth or Hexadecimal, but I've seen 'Lectra fight. And if they're not careful, they may lose those heads," GigAnate said.  
  
* * *  
  
"Home sweet home," Electra said, Keying in the password and opening the door to her house. The door slid open, and Electra stepped in. "Lights," She said. Responding to her voice, the lights in the room turned themselves on.  
  
"Oooh, what a lovely house," Hex said, coming in and looking around. "It could use a bit of work, though.... I think that wall over there would look better in green..."  
  
"Hmmm... maybe you're right...," Jareth said. He started to dig through his pockets. "I KNOW I've got some paint in here somewhere...."  
  
"Hey! Redecorate your own house. Right now, we've got to figure out how we can help the rebels.... and the others! We've got to find some way to get in touch with the other Mainframers. They still don't know about Macro."  
  
Jareth wandered off, exploring the other rooms of the house. Hexadecimal flopped down on the couch, still picturing the room in various shades of green.  
  
"That double-crossing snake," Electra continued, "When I get my hands on him..."  
  
"Hey, Electra... where's your fridge?"  
  
"Don't you ever think of anything but food? This is important!"  
  
Jareth gave her the most vacant look one can who has no face.  
  
"Forget it. The kitchen's the second room on the left, just past the bathroom, you can't miss it."  
  
Jareth switched to a grin. "Thanks," he said, before running off towards the fridge.  
  
"I don't suppose you have any suggestions?" Electra asked, glancing over at Hex.  
  
"Oh, I have several. For instance, I think that lamp would look better over there...."  
  
Electra sighed. "Forget it."  
  
"Got any I/O shots?" Jareth's voice rang out of the kitchen.  
  
"Nah, I hate that stuff." Electra poured over many Vid windows.  
  
"Whatever. Hey! Power Shakes!"  
  
"Get me one while you're in there, would you?" Electra typed a few more keys. "Got it!" Electra's study lit up with the glow from the Vidwindows. They now displayed various lists and graphs.  
  
"Got what? Is it suddenly brighter in here?" Jareth walked into the room, carrying two Power Shakes. He absently handed one to Electra, staring at the Vidwindows.  
  
"Yeah, I got access into the rebel files. It wasn't easy, either. Macro tried to block my access codes."  
  
Jareth eyed the files displayed on the Vidwindows. If he'd had eyelids, he would have blinked furiously."Rather colorful, isn't it?" he asked.  
  
"Thank Ms. Tracer. She programmed it."  
  
"Sounds familiar. Is that the one that wouldn't stop looking at me?" Jareth remembered the girl who had watched him until she walked into the wall.  
  
"Yup, She's only there because her two older sisters are." Electra shifted in her chair. "And as long as she's been here, she's been trying to make the rebels more...fashionable. She's already threatened to have a formal dance, once we get rid of Daemon. Seriously, I think she just wants to see me in a dress."  
  
"Um...Don't you mean IF we get rid of Daemon?" Jareth corrected.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Umm...why did we access the rebel files?"  
  
"To contact the others. Remember?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh, forget it."  
  
"I already did."  
  
Electra sighed, trying very hard not to slap him.  
  
Hexadecimal wandered into the room."What are you two doing in here?" she asked. "If I'm interrupting anything, I can always come back later," she added, giving Jareth a secretive look. Jareth switched his mask to an evil glare.  
  
"We were just about to Call Dot," Electra said, ignore the exchange. Electra summoned up a Vidwindow, displaying the back of Dot Matrix.  
  
"Auntie Em?" Electra asked.  
  
Dot turned around. "Oh, it's you," she said. "I take it Enzo found you?"  
  
"Nopers. But we do have nifty evidence that clears our names..."  
  
"No need," Dot actually looked relieved that they had contacted her.  
  
"We wish to regroup."  
  
"And crush Macro....," Jareth added. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Macro's a traitor."  
  
"Macro? Wasn't he with you, Electra?"  
  
"He was," Electra replied. "At least, we thought he was. But he's been working for Daemon the whole time."  
  
Dot's face looked grim. "So he's the one who set the rebel sector up. The rebels have taken heavy losses because of him. I'll contact Gavin and have Macro contained until we can deal with him. Meantime, we'll have to change our plans. Again."  
  
*************************************  
  
"Ugh," Electra said, as she stepped into something that probably shouldn't be stepped in. "Of all the ways into the Supercomputer's Principal Office., we just HAD to go in through the sewer."  
  
Jareth shrugged. "Just be glad you're wearing boots. Dot said someone should sneak in and shut down the P.O. defenses form the inside."  
  
"Yes, and I would have gladly volunteered to go. But why do we have to go in through the sewers?"  
  
"I don't know. You tell me."  
  
Electra stared at him. "But it was your idea."  
  
"It was?"  
  
"Yes. You said that since no one in their right mind would try to sneak in to the P.O. by wading through raw sewage, Daemon wouldn't think to put defenses here."  
  
"That sounds logical. Are you sure it was my idea?"  
  
Once again, Electra had to resist the urge to slap him.  
  
As if the smell wasn't bad enough, the light began to fade after about thirty feet.  
  
"Man, it's dark in here," Jareth said. "Shark--Flashli-"  
  
"No!" Electra stopped him in mid-command. "Dot said that the P.O. scanners would be able to detect the use of a Keytool."  
  
"Oh, yeah," Jareth said. Now he remembered. Since a Keytool left a Guardian when he became infected, Daemon had set up Keytool-scanners to locate uninfected Guadians. Jareth knew from past experience that he showed up on most scanners as a Guardian. Maybe Electra was right, he shouldn't call attention to himself.  
  
"But it IS dark in here," Electra said. "I don't suppose you have any Viral tricks you can pull off?"  
  
"Maybe," Jareth sounded surprised. That simply hadn't occurred to him. "Let me see what I can do."  
  
Electra heard faint rustling sounds, and she could tell that Jareth was digging through his pockets again.  
  
"Ah, here we go," Jareth said. Suddenly, a bright flickering light appeared, so bright Electra had to shield her eyes. When her eyes adjusted, Electra glanced at the source of the light. One of Jareth's crystal orbs floated at about eye-level, shining a bright bluish-white. It hovered unsteadily, as if it could not make up it's mind which way to go.  
  
"How's that?" Jareth asked.  
  
"It'll do. Can you send it on ahead?"  
  
Jareth bent down so that he was on eye-level with the crystal. "Light...go on ahead."  
  
The light hovered exactly where it was, seemingly content to stay where it was.  
  
"Light...ahead!" Jareth repeated.  
  
This time, the light floated over and came to rest on Jareth's shoulder.  
  
Electra smirked at him.  
  
"What? At least we can see where we're going now."  
  
"Yeah....now we can watch where we step."  
  
***************************************  
  
Electra pushed the sprite-hole above them.  
  
"Sealed." Electra sighed. "They were prepared."  
  
"Let me try."Jareth said. He pushed against the cover, but it wouldn't budge.  
  
"Ahem. Jareth... IT'S SEALED! you can't push it."  
  
"Oh. So what should we do?"  
  
"Hmmm...." Electrs stood as if in a trance for a while. Jareth dug his hands into his pockets and waited.  
  
A while later Jareth got fed up and poked Electra.  
  
"Wha? Where am I? What's going on?" Electra said sleepily.  
  
"You were asleep," Jareth's mask flashed an angry look.  
  
"Oh, sorry. Anyway, I have an idea." Electra pulled out Jet. The strange Keytool seemed to be permanently stuck in the shape of a double-handed short sword.  
  
Jareth looked Electra up and down inquisitively. Not sure she liked the way he was looking at her, Electra frowned.  
  
"What are you staring at?"  
  
"Just where were you hiding that thing?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Never mind. The point is, I can use it to pry off the Sprite-hole cover."  
  
"But the collective will pick up the use of a keytool...or at least you said it would."  
  
"It will. But not if I don't give Jet a command. I can just use it as a sword."  
  
"Oooh. Whatever." Electra shoved Jet straight up through the sprite-hole.  
  
"OW!" A voice called out from above. Electra and Jareth looked at each other, shocked.  
  
"Do you think it's a guardian?" Jareth asked Electra.  
  
"Of course it's a Guardian!" a familiar voice called through the cover.  
  
"Bob?"  
  
"Bob?"  
  
"BOB!" Bob yelled from above them.  
  
Electra pulled Jet out from the cover, prompting another yelp from the blue-skinned Guardian.  
  
"Everybody off the sprite-hole!" Electra waited for the all clear.  
  
Electra cut a hole in the cover big enough for her and Jareth. They climbed up with Bob's help. Jareth look around the room. It seemed to be some sort of Prison cell, though why a sewer should lead to a cell was anyone's guess. Matrix was sitting dejectedly against the wall, brooding over something. Bob's leg was bleeding where it had been sliced by Jet. Jareth couldn't help but note the unusual color of the blood oozing onto the floor.  
  
"Hey! We're in a jail?" Jareth exclaimed.  
  
"Let me guess... Macro?"  
  
Matrix looked down at the floor. "He tricked me." Matrix growled.  
  
"Macro left a holographic decoy of himself in the Saucy mare's brig, while he escaped here. He managed to take Matrix and I hostage," Bob explained.  
  
"There, there. It's not your fault you're a big dolt." Electra said sarcastically, patting his shoulder. Matrix slapped her hand away.  
  
"Keep your hands off me, Virus!"  
  
"Hey! If you weren't so hooked on being Macro's newest best friend...."  
  
"So this is now my fault?!" Matrix instinctively put his hand to his holster, only to remember that it was empty.  
  
"No! This is his fault!" Electra pointed at Jareth. "He dragged me through the sewers and now I'm peeved."  
  
While Electra was facing Matrix, Jareth made a crazy sign behind her back.  
  
"I saw that!" Electra yelled.  
  
"Saw what?" Jareth asked innocently.  
  
The conversation was cut short as footsteps were heard echoing down the hall outside the cell.  
  
"Eep! Guards!"  
  
Jareth shoved Electra back down the hole, hopping in after her. He kept the side of his head to the ceiling of the sewer until he heard the footsteps leave, then climbed back out of the hole. He reached his hand down to help Electra out, but she didn't surface.  
  
"Alright Electra, I know you don't like the sewers but... Lectra? Electra?" Jareth searched the water beneath him, but found nothing. "ELECTRA!? LECTRA?! Where are you?"  
  
***********************************************  
  
Elsewhere in the Supercomputer, a Sprite hole cover was moved aside, creaking in protest against the concrete.  
  
"Gah!" Electra pulled herself out of what she hoped was only murky water. The current had swept her down a side tunnel, dragging off to User knew where.  
  
"Jareth, I swear, when I get my digits on you...." Electra pushed the hair off her face. "Jareth? No witty Comeback?"  
  
Electra looked around....only to find herself standing in the street, directly in front of the Principle Office.  
  
"Oh, Slag," she said to the various Guardians who stood around her, weapons held ready. " It's you."  
  
*****************************************************  
  
"Well, how was I supposed to know that there was undertow in the sewers? It's not like I go sewer surfing on weekends. It actually YOUR fault, you know. You should have told me there were Guards posted, then we could have been quieter. You know--"  
  
"Shut. Up," Matrix growled. "Just break the bars so we can get out of here."  
  
"And just how am I supposed to do that?" Jareth asked.  
  
"You can use your Viral energies to melt the bars," Bob said, nursing his wounded foot. "I'd do it myself, but..." Bob gestured with one arm, indicating his entire body. His chrome Glitch-Armor seemed to be covered with some sort of green fuzz. Looking closer, Jareth saw that Bob was actually covered with tiny lines of glowing green zeroes and ones.  
  
"It's a sort of file-lock," Bob explained. "A Codemaster did the same thing to Glitch once before. My powers won't work until I can manage to break it."  
  
"Okay. Stand back." Jareth cracked his knuckles and aimed his bony white hands towards the bars. In moments, they were free.  
  
"Funny. The last time I tried that, nothing happened. This must be the low-rent district, the bars were much softer. So, now what?" Jareth asked, following Bob and Matrix as the crept down the hall.  
  
"First of all, keep your voice down," Matrix snapped.  
  
"We're headed to one of the storage rooms," Bob said. "They took Matrix's Gun, and I'm hoping to find something that'll break this time lock."  
  
"Ah...say no more. Say, when do you think we'll run into Mom? I still want to talk to her about the time-"  
  
"Shhh!"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
***************************************  
  
Electra winced as she was forced into a chair by a rather unfriendly hand. The interrogation room she was in was one of the most uncomfortable the Supercomputer could manage, and the bright lights were shining directly into Electra's face.  
  
"Electra! I was wondering where you'd gotten to. Welcome home."  
  
"Macro! You scum-sucking--"  
  
"Ah-ah-ah, flattery will get you nowhere. I'm just here to ask you a few questions."  
  
Marco's smooth, cover-up personality was gone, replaced by a predatory look in his eyes. He was after something, and he was determined to get it.  
  
"Now, just how many of you are there?" he asked.  
  
"Just one. Accept no substitutions."  
  
Macro slapped her across the face.  
  
"Don't tempt me," He said. "I can do much worse."  
  
Electra sneered at him, but didn't answer.  
  
"So tell me, how many?" Macro leered over Electra.  
  
"You think I'm just going to TELL you? You tried to capture us. And you doomed the Rebels."  
  
"I wouldn't had to, if you had accepted my offer." Macro brushed Electra's cheek.  
  
"I'd rather marry Frisket." Electra growled, and bit Macro's hand. Her fangs sank into his skin, drawing blood.  
  
"Who's Frisket?" Marco said with a growl while nursing his hand.  
  
"The dog behind you," Electra replied with a grin.  
  
***********************************************  
  
Matrix, Bob, and Jareth slid past a hall of cells, moving as stealthily as they could. As they passed the last one, no less than three different pairs of hands pulled them in. After a slight struggle, GigAnate lay on the floor, keeping as still as she could.  
  
"GigAnate!" The three almost shouted.  
  
"Shhh... Do you want us all to be re-captured?" said a female sprite that Jareth thought looked a lot like a squid.  
  
"Hey. I know you. You sent that transmission to Electra," Jareth pointed to the squid lady. Jareth suddenly realized that there were quite a lot of squid people around them.  
  
"That was was was Me," one of the others said. "Where is Elec ec ectra?"  
  
"I accidentally flushed her down own own the sewer," Jareth replied, imitating the Sprite's speech impediment.  
  
Emily and Cathryn Hotkey stood to the side, watching. Recognizing the rebel Viruses from the Saucy Mare, Matrix did a quick double-take.  
  
"Hey, weren't there three of you?" he asked.  
  
"Rachel whined," Cathryn said. "So we left her back on the boat."  
  
"Listen," Bob said, "We need to form a plan. We have to..." Bob suddenly swooned and would have hit the floor had Matrix not caught him.  
  
"He's in a file lock!" GigAnate noted, startled. "It seems to be draining his energy."  
  
"Can you fix him?" Matrix asked, unease in his voice. He disliked entrusting Bob to a Virus, especially since he didn't have his Gun handy.  
  
"Not GigAnate personally, but we rebels will have him out in a jiff," one of the nearby Virals said.  
  
"Who are you?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, name's Aurora. Put 'er there." The Virus extended a tentacle-like hand.  
  
"No," Jareth said, staring at her hand as if it might bite.  
  
"Jareth, I want you to find Electra," Bob said. GigAnate opened her mouth to say something, but Bob cut her off. "No matter how capable she is, She might need back up" Jareth nodded and Disappeared into his mask, which spun haphazardly out of the room.  
  
"Rebels, Let's get working." GigAnate announced.  
  
************************************************  
  
Electra stood looking down at the floor.  
  
"Yuck," she commented. Lying there were various pieces of what had once been Macro. He was badly injured, though he hadn't yet disappeared.  
  
"What does that taste like?" Electra asked Frisket.  
  
"Woof!" Frisket replied.  
  
At that moment, Jareth chose to appear.  
  
"Hey, what's this place? Oh, the interrogation room. I remember this!  
  
This was the place where...." Jareth paused when he saw what was lying on the floor. "Is that what I think it is?"  
  
"Yes. Macro. I thought I'd just watch him writher for a while."  
  
"Good dog," Jareth said. "Wait...how did Frisket get here?"  
  
"Don't ask me."  
  
"Frisket, how did you get here?"  
  
Frisket barked.  
  
"All right, enough fun," Electra said. "We need to get out of here. You, Jareth..."  
  
"Me Jareth."  
  
Electra sighed.  
  
"You, Jareth, go get Hex, Bring her here. Think you can remember that?"  
  
"Okay, Hex said she'd be finished by now."  
  
"Finished with what?"  
  
Jareth gave her a puzzled look. "Your house. What else?"  
  
Electra sighed, picturing what her house would look like after Hexadecimal was through with it. "Listen, when you and Hex get back, be prepared to fight. We're going to have to battle our way out of here."  
  
Jareth looked at her skeptically. "This is the Principal Office of the Supercomputer. Do you really think we can fight our way out?"  
  
"Hmm...maybe not. I don't suppose you have any tricks left?"  
  
Jareth began to search through his pockets, his hand encountering the small object Hex had given him to hang onto. "You know what? I just might."  
  
***********************************************  
  
Jareth's polished black mask flung itself down the halls of Electra's house, finally halting when it reached the living room. In a flash of bright light, Jareth appeared.  
  
"Hex? Hexadecimal..."  
  
"Jareth? In here!"  
  
Jareth followed the sound of Hexadecimal's voice, finally finding her standing on the kitchen ceiling, painting herself into a corner. The entire kitchen had been re-done, the walls covered in jet black paint. Hand-and-footprints had been splattered over everything in neon colors, and Jareth was almost positive that the microwave did not belong in the refrigerator.  
  
Now, why was he here again....?  
  
"Oh, yeah! Hex, Electra told me to come get you. We get to fight and...stuff." He shrugged.  
  
"Really? Who are we fighting?"  
  
Jareth shrugged again. "The Guardians, I suppose."  
  
Hex hopped down from the ceiling onto the freshly-painted turquoise floor.  
  
"All right then, let's go!" Hex vanished into what had once been her mask, and floated gently away.  
  
Jareth gazed around the kitchen. "I wonder where she got all the paint?" he mused. Then he followed Hexadecimal, hoping that she knew where they were supposed to be going.  
  
*************************************************  
  
"What could be keeping them?" Electra asked, pacing the floor of the interrogation room.  
  
Frisket replied with a growl. Already, three half-eaten sprites lay on the floor of the room, and eventually, Electra knew, sooner or later someone would want to know where all the guards were going.  
  
"Honey, I'm home!" Jareth appeared in the room, with Hex following after.  
  
"What did you call me?" Electra asked.  
  
"Never mind. Here, I think this is yours." Jareth reached into his coat and pulled out what looked like a cross between a Keytool and a katana blade.  
  
"Jet!" Electra said, taking the strange tool from Jareth. "Where did you find him?"  
  
"One of the Guards was carrying him, heading for the evidence room."  
  
Electra shot Jareth an odd look.  
  
"What were you doing there?" she asked.  
  
"I only went in to look!" Jareth said defensively. "It's not like I went in just to take things. And you should be glad did, because I also found your other Keytool, What's-His-Name."  
  
Jareth pulled another Keytool, this one a more conventional-looking device, from his other pocket and tossed it to her.  
  
Electra caught BuBBle and attached it to her bracer. "Whatever. Listen, we need to get back to the others."  
  
"Right," Jareth nodded. "Follow me."  
  
Hexadecimal and Electra fell into step behind Jareth, as the three of them exited the interrogation room. They had not gotten far when one of the wandering Guardians stopped them. Electra was about to attack, as was Hexadecimal, when Jareth withdrew the small command from his pocket and threw it to the floor.  
  
It had been a long, long time since the Medusa Bug had been activated, but it was obvious that it hadn't lost it's touch. The moment the small, honeycomb-shaped object hit the floor, it's power began to spread, turning everything into stone.  
  
The Guardian tried to run, but the effects of the Medusa were too fast. Soon, he was nothing more than a statue.  
  
Unfortunately, Jareth and Electra too were affected. Both stood in the narrow hallway, frozen solid. Hexadecimal, hovering inches off the floor, gazed sadly from one to the other.  
  
"Hmm....I suppose I should really undo this, but..." Hex's gaze went to the frozen Guardian. "That would release HIM as well...." Hex shook her head, unaccustomed to logical thought. "What to do, what to do.....Hmmm?"  
  
As Hex stood there, the stone encasing Electra began to crack. Soon, it had shattered entirely, freeing her from her imprisonment. Moments later, Jareth, too, was freed.  
  
"What in the World Wide Web was THAT?!" Electra asked.  
  
"The Medusa Bug," Jareth explained, shaking a few fragments of stone from his hair. "You were out of town the last time Hex played with it. It's a lot of fun, but for some reason, Guardians are immune."  
  
"Wait," Electra said, puzzled. "If Guardians are immune, then doesn't that mean..."  
  
All three looked down the hall toward the Guard that had stopped them. Sure enough, the stone holding him prisoner shattered, freeing him. He took off down the hall, running as fast as he could.  
  
The three exchanged glances.  
  
"After him!" Electra shouted.  
  
***************************************  
  
"Now, just hold still, Bob...," GigAnate said, opening up a Field Medic kit. The chaotic Virus withdrew a small tool and aimed it at Bob, who was lying against the wall.  
  
"This'll get rid of that file lock, faster than you can say-" GigAnate never got to say what it worked faster than you could say, because at that moment a wave of energy swept through the area, turning everyone and everything it passed into stone.  
  
Bob sighed. This was a little too familiar.  
  
Moments later, the stone encasing Matrix shattered. He dusted himself off carefully, looking a bit confused.  
  
"The Medusa Bug, or something just like it," Bob explained. "Guardians are immune, but it clearly works on Viruses."  
  
Bob gestured to GigAnate, who stood still as a stone. Matrix tried to pry the tool from GigAnate's hand, but it, too, was stone, and now seemed to be a part of the Virus' hand.  
  
"This is bad," Bob said.  
  
"Very bad," agreed Matrix.  
  
************************************************  
  
"So, What should be do with him?" Electra was sitting on the unconscious Guardian.  
  
"Well, we could tie him up," Jareth suggested.  
  
"With what?? Wait..." Electra ripped off one of her sleeves, making a long and wide piece of cloth. She ripped it into thirds. She handed one to Hex, and the other to Jareth.  
  
"Alright. Jareth. You tied his legs, Hex, you stuff it in his mouth, and I'll tie his digits."  
  
"Ummm....'Lectra? I have rope, you know."  
  
"What? You should have said something!"  
  
"You didn't ask!  
  
Before this argument could go any further, Matrix came running down the hall.  
  
"Ah. Mr. Macho, nice of you to join the party." Electra said with her hands on her hips. "Where's Bob? Wasn't he with you?" she asked.  
  
"I left him back in the cell with the Virals." Matrix scowled again. "I didn't want to, but he made me."  
  
"Why didn't he come along?"  
  
"He couldn't. The File Lock he's in is draining his energy. That one Virus--"  
  
"GigAnate?" Electra suggested.  
  
"Whatever, said she could free him, but then she turned to stone."  
  
"Whoops," Jareth said.  
  
"Bob'll be fine. A File Lock like that would take ages to drain a Sprite's energy to lethal levels. We'll go back and fix him later. But now, we need to find the security controls." Electra turned to Jareth. "Which way do we go?" she asked.  
  
"Um... Well... I can't remember." Jareth said honestly "Was it left or right?" They were standing where the corridor forked.  
  
"Alright, Hex, you come with me, We'll go right. Jareth, Matrix, you two go left. Jareth, keep in touch, call me if you find it." Electra grabbed Hex's arm and pulled her down the left-hand corridor.  
  
"Electra....?" Hex poked Electra. "I thought you said we were going right."  
  
"We are, Hex."  
  
"Then why are Matrix and Jareth walking right as well?"  
  
Electra stopped, looking around and noticing for the first time that she was going down the wrong tunnel.  
  
"Oh," she said. "Right."  
  
****************************************  
  
Kit paced back and forth through the streets of the Supercomputer. All of the viruses walking the streets had been encased in dull gray stone, but the Guardians were still active. They scurried like ants, trying to figure out what had happened, and because of the chaos they simply failed to notice Kit.  
  
She had left Dot, Mouse, and Timesprite back at the docks with the Saucy Mare and Ship- -all petrified, no help to anyone. What could have done this?  
  
Sighing helplessly, Kit gazed up at the massive sphere of the Principal Office. She had tried to get in, but the doors were frozen solid. There was nothing for her to do, no way she could help.  
  
She wished she knew what was going on.  
  
*******************************************  
  
Matrix couldn't have been in a worse mood. Bob had been leeched dry of energy by a File Lock, Frisket had been frozen solid by the Medusa Bug, he had lost his Gun, and, worst of all, he was left exploring the P.O. with none other than Jareth. He scowled.  
  
"Don't you ever do anything but scowl?" Jareth asked. "I mean, have you ever tried to smile? It's not that difficult...well, I wouldn't really know, of course, I haven't got a face, but just about everyone I know smiles, and they make it look pretty eas--"  
  
"Shut. Up," Matrix never pronounced "Shut up" as a phrase, at least not when directing it at Jareth. It was always two separate sentences, as if with each word Matrix was trying not to knock the Virus' teeth out.  
  
Of course, Jareth hadn't any teeth, so he wasn't terribly concerned. "Tell you what. I'll shut up if you smile. And no, that doesn't count as a smile. That's a scowl. There's a difference. See, a smile--"  
  
"Shh!" as they neared the corner, Matrix grabbed Jareth and pulled him flat against the wall. He glanced cautiously around the corner, noting the two Guardians stationed in front of the door. Jareth peeked over Matrix's shoulder.  
  
"Are those Guardians?" he whispered.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What are they doing?"  
  
"Standing guard."  
  
"Makes sense. Guardians guarding."  
  
"That's the Security Room."  
  
"How can you tell?" Jareth asked. It looked like all the other doors to him.  
  
"Read the sign."  
  
"Can't. What's it say?"  
  
"You can't read? It says 'Security'."  
  
"That's where we're going, right?"  
  
"Right. Wish I had Gun."  
  
"Gun?"  
  
"Yes, Gun...you know, my gun?"  
  
Jareth reached into his pocket and pulled out the very firearm to which Matrix had been referring. "Is this it?"  
  
The gun was gone from Jareth's hand in less time that it took to blink. Even though Jareth didn't blink, he still found this impressive.  
  
"Where did you find her?"  
  
"Her? It...ummm...SHE was in the storage room where I found 'Lectra's keytools."  
  
Matrix was fondling the Gun like a lost love.  
  
"Ummm...should I leave you two alone?"  
  
Matrix glared at him. "Watch and learn, Virus." Matrix stepped out into plain sight of the Guardians. His targeting eye rotated, then began to hum, glowing bright red. Flawlessly, Matrix squeezed off two shots. The next sound Jareth heard was a thud, like that made by a pair of bodies hitting the floor.  
  
Jareth peered around the corner, but the Guardians' bodies had already disappeared.  
  
"Come on," Matrix said. He reached for the doorknob...but before he could turn it, it turned itself. The door began to open from the other side.  
  
As fast as he could, Jareth grabbed Matrix and pulled him back around the corner and out of sight. The Viral Guardian peeked around the corner once more...and gasped, shocked.  
  
A large sprite was standing in the hall. He cast his gaze around, presumably trying to find those responsible for guarding the room. His skin was a dark blueish-green, a shade lighter than Matrix's, and his hair was jet-black. A small golden cylinder hung from his belt, and on his Icon throbbed sickly-yellow veins, a telltale sign of Daemon's infection. His skin and hair had changed color, but even Jareth could still recognize him.  
  
Matrix looked over Jareth's shoulder. "You know this guy?"  
  
"Yes," Jareth whispered.  
  
"Who is he?"  
  
"Backslash."  
  
***************************************  
  
"Really, I'm surprised at you, Electra," Hexadecimal said, as the pair of them made their way down the corridor. "I'd have thought you of all people would have paired yourself off with Jareth. Why didn't you?"  
  
"Well, he and I are the only ones with Keytools. If we didn't split up, there'd be no way for us to keep in contact."  
  
"Oh, I see....but you could have given one of yours to Matrix, or to me."  
  
Electra shuddered at the thought of what Hexadecimal would do with a Keytool. "This...works better, trust me."  
  
"What are we looking for, again?"  
  
"The security room."  
  
"And why?"  
  
Electra sighed. She was getting sick of explaining the plan. Jareth had needed constant reminders, and his sister wasn't that much better. Well, she thought, all relationships have problems.  
  
Electra stopped dead. Did she really just think that? Shaking it off, Electra fell back into step behind Hexadecimal. "We're looking for the security room so that we can shut off the defense grid. Then, we have you undo the Medusa effect. GigAnate heals Bob, reinforcements arrive, we kick Daemon's Bitmap, and celebrate with a feast. A nice big feast, with party games and music and all sorts of--"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Well, go on," Hexadecimal prompted. "All sorts of what?"  
  
More silence.  
  
Hexadecimal turned around to see why Electra hadn't spoken.  
  
A large Virus stood in the center of the Hall. Her skin was a violent sapphire blue, and her eyes blood red. She was a strikingly beautiful humanoid from the waist up, but below that she had the long, coiled tail of a serpent. A small, blue, blinking device was attached to her waist. Electra was held a good six inches off the floor, wrapped head to toe in the Virus' coils. Her fangs were sunk deep into the snakelike tail, and viscous purple blood was oozing out, but the Virus seemed not to mind.  
  
"Greetings, Hexadecimal," she said, in tones that brought to mind a bar of iron wrapped in silk.  
  
"Oh, dear."  
  
******************************************  
  
"Backslash? Are you sure?" Matrix asked, apparently shocked.  
  
"He used to be one of my best friends, I should know." Jareth's mask was a shocked expression as well. "Though I admit. He's changed."  
  
"Who's there? You can't hide from me you know. I'm Backslash Interface! Terror of the guardian collective!" Matrix shook his head in disbelief and Jareth tried not to snigger.  
  
The sound gave them away, and Backslash rounded the corner. "Aha! Here you are! ... oh Hello Jareth. what are you doing here?"  
  
"Infect him?" Matrix asked Jareth.  
  
"Infect? Sorry, can't, don't know how. I never could get Megabyte to teach me that one."  
  
"Why do you want to do that?" Backslash asked, puzzled. "And who are you?" he asked, turning on Matrix. "And didn't you fall out with your mother?" he asked Jareth, turning back to the Viral Guardian.  
  
"Mother?" Matrix echoed. Could it be that Backslash hadn't heard about what had happened the last time they were in the Supercomputer? Maybe they could turn that to their advantage.  
  
He shot Jareth a look, and, for once, Jareth caught on. Jareth nodded at the renegade, then turned back to Backslash.  
  
"I wouldn't say we've FALLEN OUT, exactly. I merely went on...um...a trip that she wasn't so fond of. Say, where do you think that expression came from, anyway? 'Falling out'....sounds like a skydiving term. Do you think he's buying this, Matrix?"  
  
Matrix shook his head, muttered something about Chaotics, then grabbed Backslash and wrestled him to the ground. "Get. Some. Ugh! ROPE. or something." Matrix managed to call out while fighting the surprisingly strong Backslash.  
  
"Oh! I have that! I can do that!" Jareth said, as if he'd just won a prize. Jareth looked into his pocket and pulled out the first thing he found.  
  
"Wait! I have weapons!" Buffy cried.  
  
"I've made a little space for the cheese," The cheese guy replied.  
  
"Oops. That's not rope." Jareth said, pushing them back into he's jacket. "AH! here it is."  
  
"Give it here." Matrix commanded.  
  
Matrix quickly tied up the infected Guardian. "Watch him," he said gruffly, then walked towards the security room.  
  
"I hope you realize that that's not the real security room," Backslash said.  
  
"Then why is it labeled Security Room?" Jareth asked.  
  
"The P.O. is full of mislabeled doors, to throw intruders off the track. You'll never find the real defense grid."  
  
"Um... what are we going to do with him now?" Jareth asked, looking back up at Matrix.  
  
"He'll take us to the defense grid."  
  
Jareth kneeled by Backslash. "By the way, Hi, Backslash! I haven't seen you in a long time. Do you remember me? Well, even if you don't, I remember you, and that's something, because I almost never remember anything. Anyway, what are you doing here? The last time I saw you, you said something about going away to explore the Net, but I never thought you'd wind up here, because--"  
  
Matrix interrupted Jareth by poking Backslash."Take us to the defense grid."  
  
"Never," Backslash spat. "No matter what you do, I'll never--"  
  
CLICK! Matrix's Gun was suddenly cocked next to his head.  
  
Backslash sighed. "That way," he said, jerking his head in the direction of the hall.  
  
*******  
  
"Nice Mask" Electra said. She and Hexadecimal had been taken to Daemon's throne room. Electra had been in no position to put up much of a fight (and HexAnate's blood was starting to burn her mouth), and Hexadecimal had been quite wiling to see Daemon again, so they had been transported here with little trouble. Once there, Electra had been hung from her wrists over a large tub of glowing liquid, presumably something unpleasant.  
  
On the small pedestal next to her throne was a polished golden mask, which slowly rotated, catching the light. Daemon wandered slowly past the pedestal, caressing the mask as she passed.  
  
"Oh, Mother, You shouldn't have." Hexadecimal squealed at the sight of the mask.  
  
"Good, because I didn't."  
  
"You mean the mask isn't for me?" Hexadecimal frowned.  
  
"It's my greatest invention yet. I haven't quite got a name for it, considering that I haven't put it on anyone yet." Daemon pushed a button on the arm of her throne. "You may enter, Turbo."  
  
The door to the throne room opened again, and none other than Turbo stepped into the room.  
  
"But I do have somebody in mind," Daemon continued. "He'll be the greatest Virus there ever was....next to me, of course." Daemon went behind Turbo and raised the mask over his head.  
  
"HOLD IT!" Electra said.  
  
Daemon paused. "Yes?"  
  
"You're going to put THAT mask on Turbo?"  
  
"Correct."  
  
"But Turbo's a guy."  
  
"Your point being?" Daemon asked, now slightly irritated.  
  
"That's a female mask."  
  
Daemon blinked. How had she managed to overlook that? Of course, a female mask could not be used on a male Guardian.  
  
"Then I'll simply have to find someone else." She glared menacingly at the Sprite hanging from the ceiling.  
  
Electra swallowed. "Me?"  
  
"Out of the question. You have Lore's Code, Lore's mixed code. There'd be no point in my replacing Lore if I gave this mask to someone just like him."  
  
Daemon walked back to her throne and returned the mask to it's pedestal. "Anyway, you won't live to see my creation. You'll be deleted. Now, I must be off to find a suitable....specimen. Hexadecimal, dear?"  
  
"Yes, Mother?"  
  
"Keep an eye on her, would you? Come, HexAnate, Turbo." The three left the room, side by side.  
  
"Soooo.... Hex," Electra said, as soon as the doors has slid closed. "How do you feel about letting me down? Preferably not into the--"  
  
SPLASH!  
  
"Oops. Sorry Electra." Hex said innocently, as Electra quick swam to the surface, eager to get out of the water before she got deleted.  
  
"Yeah, whatever," Electra said, climbing out of the pool. The strange green liquid clung to her. "Yuck," she said, attempting to brush it off. It seemed to be soaking into her flesh; her skin was starting to glow green. She made a mental note to find out what it was, as soon as this adventure was over.  
  
" It certainly is a nice mask," Hexadecimal said. "Do you think mother would mind if I took it?"  
  
"Probably. But do you really care?"  
  
"Why, what a question, Electra! Of course I care!" Hex grabbed the mask.  
  
Electra glanced at the door as footsteps started to echo in the corridor beyond.  
  
"Oh bother. I don't have anywhere to put it," Hexadecimal said. "And mother would take it from me if she saw me with it, wouldn't she? Here, Electra, you take it. Hide it. Find Jareth and... Do.... whatever it is we're here to do.." Hex handed the mask to Electra, somehow managing to shrug at the same time.  
  
"Got it Hexy." Electra bolted from the room. As the doors close behind her, she heard Hexadecimal roar:  
  
"AND NEVER CALL ME THAT!"  
  
*******  
  
Jareth and Matrix entered the dimly lit hallway, dragging the tied-up Backslash behind them. There were no doors in this one, but the walls were lined with portrait after portrait, beautifully rendered.  
  
"Hey. I remember this hall from a lecture we had when I was in the Academy." Jareth exclaimed, surprised that he could remember something from so long ago.  
  
Matrix shot a surprised look at Jareth. "I thought you'd never been to the Academy."  
  
Jareth switched to an embarrassed face. "Well, I was expelled, to tell you the truth. In my third year. Never made it any further. But I went, of course. Where else does one get a Keytool?"  
  
Matrix blinked, absorbing this new information. "So what's the deal with this hall?"  
  
"Backslash, would you care you explain?" Jareth looked down at the gagged Backslash, who merely glared at him.  
  
"Very well," Jareth said, "I'll do it. This Hall holds all the paintings of all the Prime Guardians the collective has ever known. It had everything written on the plaque you would need to know about them. Installation date, Deletion date, What wars they've caused..." Backslash made an outraged sound through his gag. "Oh. sorry. What wars they've won, or fought in. And they're all here, every single one of them...from...Comp Serve to Hot Key, from Online Access to Sei..." Jareth stopped at the third picture from the end. "That's funny..."  
  
"What? what is it?"  
  
"There's no Deletion date on Seirra's plaque. And we all know she's not the current Prime Guardian. It doesn't say what happened to her."  
  
"Lazy engraver?" Matrix quipped.  
  
"I don't think so." Jareth bent over and pulled out Backslash's gag. "What happened to Seirra?" he asked.  
  
"I wouldn't tell you even if I kne--" Jareth stuffed the gag back in. Backslash coughed on the gag.  
  
"Maybe she just retired," Matrix suggested.  
  
Jareth shook his head. As I understand it, Guardians never retire. They serve until the day they go offline."  
  
"Well, we can go ask Turbo if we see him."  
  
Backslash couldn't speak, but he began to thrash about as soon as Matrix mentioned Turbo.  
  
"What is it boy? You want to play fetch?" Jareth asked.  
  
Matrix almost lost his grip on Backslash's rope. He bent down and pulled the gag out of his mouth again.  
  
"Turbo's bad news. Only Daemon and HexAnate are even allowed near him."  
  
"Whoa. HexAnate's here?" Jareth asked. "The virus that killed Del--"  
  
"Of course! How many people have a name like HexAnate? Listen, I know you guys aren't too thrilled with me at the moment, but take my advice and stay away from Turbo. At all costs."  
  
"Just because he's fighting the infection?"  
  
"Fighting it? Ha! He lost that fight ages ago. But Daemon's about to make him Virus supreme. Nobody will be able to beat him... except Daemon, the Great and Powerf--" Jareth stuck the gag back in.  
  
"Why'd you do that?" Matrix asked.  
  
"I doubt he was going to say "Wizard of Oz". Believe me Matrix, I did it for your own protection. Now, we have to find Daemon and Turbo before something very, very not good happens.  
  
"Where's the girl?" Daemon asked, as she and HexAnate reentered the room.  
  
Hexadecimal glanced at the empty manacles that hung from the ceiling, then to the glowing pool. "The girl? Why, she...err..."  
  
"Hexadecimal! How could you?"  
  
Hexadecimal pouted. "But Mother, I just..."  
  
"How could you delete her before I got here? We get so little time to bond, you and I. We could have done that together."  
  
"Oh, well," Hexadecimal replied. "These things happen."  
  
"Indeed. You never did tell me what happened to that mask of yours." As she spoke, Daemon climbed back into her throne. Hexadecimal floated into the air with a giggle and came down in her mother's lap.  
  
"Well," she began," do you remember Guardian 452?"  
  
"The one who escaped into the Web?"  
  
"That's the one. Isn't he simply.."  
  
"Yes, he is." Daemon grinned, but it quickly became a frown. "He did this to you?" Daemon ran her hand along Hex' smooth face...warm and soft, not at all like the mask she was created with.  
  
"You know, it's a shame. I couldn't find anyone in the dungeons worthy of my beautiful new mask. I'd give it to you, but then I'd still only have two children. The point of making it was to have three again." Daemon glanced at the pedestal...then did a double-take as she realized that it was empty. In a single, catlike movement, she sprang up and perched on the back of her throne, throwing Hexadecimal from her lap. Hex caught herself midair and turned to face Daemon.  
  
"Hexadecimal! Where have you taken my mask? Tell your mother the truth!"  
  
"Me?" Hexadecimal asked innocently. "I haven't taken it anywhere."  
  
Just then, the double doors opened again and Jareth and Matrix entered, between them carrying the still-tied Backslash. Matrix dropped his half of Backslash.  
  
"This isn't the defense grid!" he yelled. "You lied to us!"  
  
Backslash grinned. "Of course I did. Did you really believe all that crap about mislabeled doors? No one's ever broken into the Principle Office before."  
  
"Lore!" Daemon leapt from her perch on the back of her throne to the center of the floor, then rose gracefully to her feet. "Return my mask, immediately!"  
  
"What mask?"  
  
"The one you stole from me."  
  
"What? What are you talking about? I just got here."  
  
"HexaAate. Search him." Daemon commanded. Jareth sighed and dropped his half of Backslash, as HexAnate slithered towards him.  
  
*******  
  
Electra raced as fast as she could down the hall, trying to find Jareth. "I have a great idea, everybody. Let's split up!" she panted, mocking herself. "I am such an idiot..."  
  
She stopped dead when she reached the fork. Alarms began blaring from the hall she had just come from, and a patrol of Guardians was approaching from the front. She heard more footsteps, turned, and saw that yet another patrol was coming from her right. She was trapped. She looked down at the mask in her hands.  
  
"Oh well," she sighed. "When in Rome..." Electra closed her eyes and slowly raised the mask to her face.....  
  
*******  
  
Jareth dodged a claw, jumped over another, and sent an glowing golden orb right into HexAnate's chest. She shrieked and fell over backwards, where she lay twitching on the floor.  
  
"Well that was easy." He said as Hexanate disappeared, leaving the small blue blinking device behind on the throne room floor.  
  
Daemon watched all this with some interest. Jareth saw as her eyes flicked towards something over his left shoulder. Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted off the ground from behind.  
  
"Now Mother, what is all this about?" came the rich, eloquent voice of his assailant.  
  
Jareth couldn't see his attacker, but he didn't need to. Not even he could possibly forget that voice.  
  
Megabyte was back.  
  
*******  
  
This time, Electra didn't scream. She did almost pass out again, but she didn't scream. When the pain stopped, Electra stood up. At least, she thought she was standing. She felt weird, like she was floating.  
  
When Electra looked down, she noticed that she wasn't even touching the ground. Her tight fitting clothes were no more. Instead, she wore a loose blue dress that was floating around her, as was her hair. As the Guardian Patrols advanced on her, her new eyes transfixed on them. She raised one of her hands and shot out a wave of blue energy. The Guardians all fell to the floor, twitching in agony until they disappeared.  
  
Well, she thought, so much for that.  
  
It was then she realized that she couldn't breathe.  
  
*******  
  
"So let me get this straight. You made a mask to replace me, You were going to use it on Turbo, but Electra pointed out the mistake, so you took him back. Hex kills her, you lose the mask, and you blame me?" Jareth was wearing his angriest face. "Why am I blamed for everything that she does? This happened before we were Viral, too! It's not fair!" Jareth turned from Daemon and glared at Hex. "And why did you have to do that to Electra? What did she ever do to you?"  
  
"But, Jareth..."  
  
Jareth took one wide step to the left. A moment later, Megabyte flew right through the space he had been standing, slamming into the wall. His blue skin was now as black as Jareth's mask, and the crest on his head had become the same gold as his claws. In addition to the color change, four long black tentacles now grew from his back, and they continually waved about in the air as though they were attempting to catch something. Apparently, the Virus had survived the Web my merging with a Web Creature. A similar blue, blinking device was clipped to his side. Matrix stormed after him, with the look on his face that was reserved especially for Megabyte.  
  
"Oh, take it outside, you two," Jareth said. With a wave of his hand, he transported them both to the street outside the front doors of the Principal Office.  
  
Moments later, Electra flew into the room, crashing right into Jareth. She helped him back up after she got up and was going frantic with hand gestures.  
  
"What is it 'Lectra? What's wrong? And what did you do to yourself?"  
  
She hit him and continued to signal to her new face.  
  
"I don't understand, Electra, What's wrong, Why can't you just tell me? Are you hungry? Do you need to use the bathroom? I don't now where it is here...."  
  
She hit him again, and continued to gesture at her face. Finally, Hex came up with the solution.  
  
"I got it! She can't breath. She doesn't know how to use the mask. Okay, Electra, Visualize the mask changing. It should obey your will. Go on."  
  
Electra complied, and the mask fell from her face. "There now. Are you alright?"  
  
"Yes. thank you Hex." She hit Jareth again for not helping her. "Did I look hungry to you?!"  
  
"No, you looked...hey, wait a minute. You're alive. You got better."  
  
"What?"  
  
"But you're glowing. Someone left you in the microwave too long."  
  
"What?"  
  
"And what happened to your face? It's still a mask."  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"Shark--Mirror."  
  
With a loud beep, Shark complied. Jareth handed the mirror to Electra.  
  
Electra gasped as she saw her reflection. Her skin was now glowing a pale, electric blue. But the thing that surprised her most was that her face was now a golden mask, identical to the one she had stolen from Daemon.  
  
"What? But...how?"  
  
Daemon, furious at being ignored for so long, shocked them all with a bolt of static from her hand. "It's not important. What's important is that you return my mask immediately!"  
  
Jareth snatched the mask held it over his head. "You want it? Come and get it."  
  
"Very well." Daemon said standing. Another blast from her hands knocked them all across the room. Jareth dropped the mask as he was slammed against the wall. Daemon walked over and casually picked it up. She calmly strode back to the pedestal and returned the mask to it's proper place.  
  
Once the precious mask was secured, she turned back to Jareth and Electra, a look of absolute fury on her face.  
  
"Give me one good reason....never mind. There aren't any." Daemon raised her arm, charging a massive energy blast.  
  
Without thinking, Jareth unfurled his wings and wrapped them around Electra. In a flash, Jareth's polished ebony mask was spinning out of the room. Daemon's blast knocked a large, smoking hole in the wall, but Jareth and Electra were long gone.  
  
***********  
  
Jareth and Electra exploded onto the ground of a brightly lit room. Every surface seemed to be covered by some sort of computer terminal.  
  
Jareth shielded his eyes, unaccustomed to the bright light. "Umm...Electra? Could you please get off me?"  
  
"As soon as my head stops throbbing," Electra replied, her eyes shut tight. "What was that?"  
  
"That was me, saving your life. Again." Electra pulled herself to her feet, then helped Jareth to rise.  
  
"Oh, come on. When have you ever saved my li--" Electra stopped short as she caught sight of the monitors that surrounded the room.  
  
"J, we found it. We finally found it."  
  
"Huh? What were we looking for?"  
  
"Jareth, this is the security room."  
  
************  
  
Matrix grunted in pain as he was slammed against the wall of the Supercomputer's Principal Office. The force of the impact left a Matrix-shaped imprint in the wall, cracking the solid rock.  
  
Matrix shook his head. His vision cleared just in time to see Megabyte lunging at him, claws extended, the jagged blades of his left hand reaching out to shred his flesh. As fast as he could, Matrix jumped aside. Megabyte's claws sliced into the stony wall of the P.O....and stuck.  
  
"This looks familiar," Matrix said. "But something's different. I mean, besides your new look, Megabyte. Now, what could it be?" Matrix took a few steps back from Megabyte, framing him with his hands. "Oh, I see what it is." A moment later, Gun was leveled directly at Megabyte's head. "This," Matrix growled. "Gun--Command Line: Full Delete!" The large green sprite took aim, as his targeting eye swivelled around and began to glow red, thrumming loudly.  
  
Just as Matrix squeezed the trigger, Megabyte attached all four of his tentacles to the wall he was stuck to. Using all his strength, he tore out a large slab of the P.O.'s wall. He swung it around, placing it between him and Matrix. The blast from Gun hit the large piece of rock, showering the area with sand and rubble.  
  
As the dust cleared, Megabyte examined his shattered claws. They appeared to be undamaged....well, no more damaged than before. His eyes narrowed dangerously. Where was that boy?  
  
A low groan issued from beneath a particularly large piece of debris.  
  
Megabyte marched over to it and threw it aside. Sure enough, there lay Matrix, barely conscious. Megabyte couldn't decide whether to grin evilly or hatefully, so he managed to do both.  
  
"Now, then....let's try this again." He raised his left hand, extending his undamaged claws, one by one. He reared back his hand, prepared to strike...and was blasted back against the wall, striking one of the metal support beams he had exposed. He shook his head. What had hit him? Just as Matrix did, he tried to clear his vision. A surprisingly small figure came into focus. A girl, blue skin, brown hair and eyes. Guardian uniform, Keytool leveled at his head.  
  
"Do I...know you, girl?"  
  
"No, but I know you. Megabyte, right?"  
  
Megabyte nodded.  
  
"You can call me Kit."  
  
*********************  
  
"So we found the Defense Grid." Jareth said rubbing his sore neck. It was kind of hard to land comfortably when you holding someone who's as heavy as if they'd been drenched in water. "I finally managed to get where I was going. That's never happened to me before. Now what do we do?"  
  
"I'm not exactly sure... I thought you'd know." Electra floated a little up into the air.  
  
"Wha?" Jareth said, shocked, but accepted it one nano later. "Stay down won't you? I'm feeling sick watching you float like that." He pulled her down so she was just under eye level.  
  
"Great. You're jealous now."  
  
"Of what? You? Ha?" Jareth half-lied. He didn't really want her power, he just thought it looked cool. Stuff on her floated, like her hair, her clothes, not to mention herself.  
  
"Whatever." She turned away from him.  
  
"Ack! Get your hair out of my face." Jareth squinted through her now-turquoise hair.  
  
"Sorry." Electra pulled it over and looked at the console. "Alright. Whatever you do. Don't push that big red button. Okay? I'll try to shut off the grid." Electra turned towards the console in front of her.  
  
"Red button?" Jareth started off towards the other side of the room where the red button was. Nanos before he reached it, Electra tackled him from behind.  
  
"That was close. Jareth, what did I tell you about the red Button?"  
  
"Hmmm? Oh, that. I don't know. I was going to press it and find out what it did."  
  
"I know. Ow, how can I stop you from pressing it?"  
  
"I don't know. What's it do?"  
  
"Ummm..." Before she could stop herself, Electra reached over and pressed the button. She closed her eyes painfully. "Why," she asked, "did I do that?"  
  
Jareth sat down comfortably cross-legged on the floor. "Because I would have," he said.  
  
Electra braced herself for the alarms.  
  
*********  
  
"It would be wise of you to stay out of my way." Megabyte hurled at Kit.  
  
Kit rolled to side, dodging Megabyte's tackle. Glancing around, her eyes fell on a baseball-sized rock, lying amidst the rubble. As quickly as she could, she kicked the rock into the air, caught it in her hand, and threw it dead on at Megabyte.  
  
Megabyte sliced the rock neatly into thirds before it ever reached him. "A rock? You can't be serious."  
  
Just then, a sudden loud hissing made Megabyte glance down at his belt. Though he had succeeded in deflecting the rock from his face, one of the pieces had struck the small blue device he had been fitted with. It was now hissing, sparking, and emitting clouds of purple smoke.  
  
A look of shock, then one of terror crossed Megabyte's face. "No!" he shot a glance from the device to the ground he stood on. Sure enough, like the edge of a piece of paper held to a flame, the gray stone of the floor was encroaching on his black metal legs. The further it consumed him, the faster it went. "NO!" he yelled, as the stone of the Medusa Bug closed in over his head, sealing him fast.  
  
Kit watched all this with amazed expression on her face. "Well. That's...worth knowing." Kit helped Matrix to rise.  
  
"So THAT'S why the Medusa wasn't affecting him. Or HexAnate." Matrix glanced at the doors of the P.O., which were still stuck fast. "We have got to find a way in there, Kit."  
  
"What's going on it there, anyway?" Kit asked, concerned.  
  
"Last I knew, Bob was in a File Lock, Frisket was petrified, Hex is probably having a tea party with Daemon, Jareth is annoying as ever, The viral rebels are stone, Backslash is tied up in the throne room... Oh! And Hexadecimal killed Electra."  
  
"Backslash is there?" Kit said her expression changing completely.  
  
"Focus." Matrix lightly tapped Kit on the back of the head. "I thought that Electra's death would have shocked you more."  
  
"WHAT!? Electra's dead!?"  
  
"As I understand it, Hexadecimal did her in."  
  
"Now we really have to get in there," Kit said.  
  
At that moment, the double doors opened wide.  
  
*****************  
  
No alarms. Electra slowly opened her eyes.  
  
"Ummm....'Lectra? I think that was the button."  
  
"You mean the one that..."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
Electra strode across to one of the consoles. It hadn't de-activated all the security like she'd hoped, but the front doors were now open. That was a start.  
  
"Jareth, help me out here."  
  
"What should I do?"  
  
"Look for something do disengage the security systems."  
  
"Okay."  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Ummm...Electra?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"What will it look like?"  
  
"It should say Security, or Disengage, or something like that."  
  
Jareth sat back down on the floor. "Sorry. Can't help you."  
  
Electra sighed. "Why not?"  
  
"Just let me know when you find it."  
  
Electra continued to search for the appropriate panel. "This would go a lot quicker if you'd help."  
  
"No....no, I don't think it would."  
  
"Ah! I think we have something."  
  
Jareth rose and went to stand beside her. "What is it?"  
  
"What, can't you read?"  
  
Jareth sighed. "You know, I'm getting really sick of being asked that question. No, I can't. So what's it say?"  
  
Electra blinked. "Ummm...It's the panel we've been looking for. Just give me a second and I'll have the entire defense grid shut down."  
  
Moments later, the lights in the room went out.  
  
"Whoops," Electra said.  
  
********************  
  
Bob lay alone in the abandoned dungeon, the dampening field on his armor draining out what was left of his energy. His eyes were blurred, he could barely see. Not that there was much to see, anyway. The Viral Rebels in the cell with him were solid as a rock, and statues aren't much company. As he watched the tool GigAnate had been holding crumbled to dust. The Medusa had been active a bit too long, things were beginning to break down. It was only a matter of time before the entire system went.  
  
Suddenly, the lights in the dungeon went out. Something must have happened to the power. Only the faint outline of the glowing green numbers covering his silver armor were visible. And they, too, were fading. His vision was finally starting to go out altogether.  
  
Or was it? He actually didn't feel so bad anymore. His strength seemed to be returning. Bob shook his head, jarring himself fully awake. He wasn't imagining it. The file lock was gone! Bob stumbled to his feet. As he did, a wave of dizziness passed over him. He might not be locked anymore, but he needed a recharge badly. But where could he find one, with all the power to the P.O. cut off?  
  
***********************  
  
"Ummm...I think I hit the wrong switch."  
  
"You think?"  
  
"Just shut up and do something."  
  
"Shark--Flashlight."  
  
Jareth swung the bright beam around, finally landing it right in Electra's golden face. Electra switched to a flinch, bringing an arm up to shield her eyes.  
  
"Don't shine it on me! Shine it on the control panel."  
  
Jareth obliged.  
  
"Now hold it there for a minute," Electra said. "I'll try to fix this."  
  
***********************  
  
Matrix and Kit rushed down the halls of the Principal Office. The two had finally arrived back at Daemon's throne room. For some unexplained reason, their progress had not been inhibited by any guards at all. It was almost as if....  
  
Kit reached for the door, but Matrix grabbed her hand.  
  
"Oww! Matrix! What is it?"  
  
"This is too easy. We never should have made it this far without a fight."  
  
Kit paused. "You're right. We didn't run into a single sprite on the way here. I figured it was just because of the Medusa thing."  
  
"That doesn't affect Guardians."  
  
"So it's a trap?"  
  
"Almost definitely."  
  
Cautiously, Kit opened the door. The two strode, side by side into the large..and conspicuously empty throne room. As soon as they were a respectable distance inside, the door slammed shut, causing both to spin around.  
  
At the sound of boots hitting the ground behind them, they spun again.  
  
There, crouched in a feral pose, was none other than Daemon herself. Her emerald green hair was now tied back behind her head like a ponytail, and her jet black eyes started to shine red.  
  
Just then, the lights went out. The only thing visible in the room was the flashing of the blue device clipped to Daemon's belt.  
  
"Oh, sure," Daemon said to no one in particular. "Spoil my entrance."  
  
*****************************  
  
"Right," Electra said, typing madly at the keyboard. "I think I've got it." With a click and a whirr, the light came back on....then exploded, showering the room with sparks.  
  
"Ummm...I'm guessing that wasn't what you meant to happen," Jareth said.  
  
"Not exactly, no." Electra turned back to the monitor. "No, it's okay. Only the lights in the Security Room blew. Well, a few in a couple of the storerooms, but nowhere important."  
  
That's when the red lights started to flash, and the blaring of the alarm made Jareth clasp his hands to where his ears should have been.  
  
"NOW the alarm goes off?!" he asked, incredulous.  
  
"Uh-oh....powering the system back up blew a fuse somewhere. We started a fire. The emergency extinguishers aren't responding. It's spreading fast."  
  
"Cool."  
  
"Cool? Do you understand what's happening?"  
  
"No, not really."  
  
Electra turned and grabbed Jareth by the lapels of his coat. "Jareth, the Principal Office is burning down."  
  
*************************************  
  
Bob breathed a sigh of relief as the lights overhead flickered back on. He stumbled over to the nearest computer terminal. "Computer--locate closest recharge point."  
  
The computer complied..and the location it showed was approximately five feet from where he was standing.  
  
"Huh?" Bob glanced over...and sure enough, there was a recharge station, presumably for the guards stationed here to recharge their weapons.  
  
"That'll do."  
  
*************************  
  
"Do the others know?" Jareth asked.  
  
"How could they?" Electra replied. "That blackout shorted out half the systems in the P.O. Internal communications are out. Alarms are out. We've got to go warn them, before the whole building burns to the ground."  
  
"Okay. Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Jareth turned around and started for the door, but stopped just short of it. "Umm... 'Lectra?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Which way?"  
  
**************************  
  
Unlike Kit, Matrix had absolutely no trouble seeing in the dark. Unfortunately, neither did Daemon. She leapt strait at them, claws outstretched. Before she could connect, Matrix tackeled Kit and knocked her out of the way. Daemon kept going, but managed to turn around in mid-air, her feet connecting with the wall. From there, Daemon leapt again, this time up towards the ceiling.  
  
Matrix climbed to his feet and looked wildy around the room, hoping to see his opponent. His eye finally fell on the hole in the ceiling where Daemon had broken through the flimsy tiles.  
  
"Matrix, what's going on?" Kit asked.  
  
"Stay down." Matrix cocked his gun at the ceiling and let loose with a huge load of ammo, showering the room with bits of splintered tile. But no Daemon.  
  
"Come on," Matrix muttered under his breath, "Where are you?"  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, Kit caught sight of something in the dark: a small, blue flash of light. The device on Daemon's belt! Sitting up, Kit aimed her Keytool at the device.  
  
"Clip--Energy Beam!" With a whirr and a click, Clip complied. The energy blast briefly illuminated the pitch black room, striking it's target with flawless precision.  
  
The device shattered, spraying the area with blueish-white sparks, just as the lights overhead flickered back on. Daemon stood still as a stone.  
  
Kit blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. Matrix ran over and helped her to her feet.  
  
"Good shot," he said.  
  
"Yes, very good."  
  
Shocked, Kit turned from Matrix to face Daemon, who was now moving freely.  
  
"How do you like my statue impression?"  
  
"But....you....," Kit was clearly confused.  
  
"I know what you're thinking. 'Why isn't she affected by our little Viral Bug?'Well, sorry, little Sprites, but a good Virus never reveals ALL her secrets."  
  
"We don't need the Medusa to deal with you," Matrix growled. He leveled his Gun at Daemon and fired, not once, not twice, but thrice.  
  
Daemon held out her hand. The blasts from Gun began to slow down, slower, slower, until the floated in front of her in a dead stop. The Supervirus snapped her fingers, and the balls of energy instantly dissipated.  
  
"Please," Daemon said. "When you refugees managed to infiltrate the Principal Office, I thought you were going to present a challenge. But if this is the best you can manage, then I don't see how you managed to get this far. But, no matter." Daemon raised her hands above her head. The lights in the room dimmed as Daemon pulled the energy from the very air, concentrating it into one large orb of energy. "The game ends here."  
  
Daemon threw the charge at the two Guardians with all her considerable strength. Matrix and Kit flinched, expecting to be deleted instantly....but that instant never came.  
  
Opening their eyes, the two saw the last thing they expected.  
  
"Jareth?"  
  
"Electra?"  
  
Daemon was equally shocked.  
  
The two were hovering between them and the fireball, using their own considerable power to hold it back.  
  
Jareth turned to face them...literally. His body didn't move, but his head spun so that it was facing completely backwards. "But of course. You didn't think we were just gonna let you get incinerated, did you? Oh, ye of little faith, Matrix."  
  
"Jareth? Could we focus here?" Electra asked, sounding a little strained. After all, she wasn't very good at using these new powers just yet.  
  
"Oh, sure. What do we do with this thing?"  
  
"Well," Electra reasoned. "What do you do with a gift you don't want?"  
  
Jareth switched to his most sinister grin. "Return it!"  
  
Daemon heard all this, but wasn't able to dodge in time. Her own blast caught her full in the face, blasting her back through her throne, the wall, and, in fact, most of the rest of the Principal Office.  
  
Electra turned back to Matrix and Kit. "You guys need to get out of here."  
  
"Why?" Kit asked.  
  
"We...er....," Electra began.  
  
"What?" Matrix asked imaptiently.  
  
"We sort of started a..ummm...a..."  
  
"Fire," Jareth said helpfully.  
  
"Yeah, that's it," Electra finished sheepishly.  
  
"You started a fire in the Principal Office? That's no big deal. The P.O. has all kinds of automatic--"  
  
"All offline.  
  
Now Kit began to look worried.  
  
*************************  
  
Two running, two flying, the four of them made their way through the burning halls of the Supercomputer's Principal Office. They got stuck only twice; once when the way ahead of them was blocked by a burning beam, and Kit and Matrix had had to be airlifted over it, and once when Electra's dress got caught on a piece of debris. Before too long, the group had escaped the building and were gathered on the street out front.  
  
"What about Frisket? He's still in there," Matrix said.  
  
"Stone doesn't burn," Kit reminded him.  
  
"But what about Bob?"  
  
"Bob is just fine," said a voice from the doorway.  
  
The party of four turned, and were astounded to see none other than Bob himself, casually leaning against the doorframe.  
  
"Bob!" Matrix actually smiled.  
  
"Fully charged and better than ever." Bob walked over to join the group. "What happened to Daemon?"  
  
"We finished her off," said Jareth.  
  
"Not quite, Lore," said another voice.  
  
As the Mainframers watched, Daemon descended the stairs and approached them, a look of pure malice on her face.  
  
************************  
  
Jareth switched to a sinister grin. "Still going, huh?" Unfurling his ebony wings, he rose a few feet into the air, Electra right beside him. "Fine by me. Let's go!"  
  
Daemon laughed derisively. "My, my, my. Are you thinking of attacking me again? Just what kind of son are you?"  
  
"What?" Jareth asked, incredulous.  
  
"What kind of a son would attack his own mother?"  
  
Jareth couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You ordered my execution!"  
  
Daemon waved the argument aside. "It's not as if you would have survived for long anyway."  
  
"We've done okay so far," Electra quipped.  
  
Daemon sighed. "Very well. Let's see what you can do, little sprites."  
  
Jareth raised both hands into the air, a large ball of golden energy appearing between them. "Catch!" Jareth threw the ball at Daemon with all his strength.  
  
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. Daemon nimbly leapt aside, allowing the charge to detonate the pavement where she'd been standing.  
  
Electra brought both hands together, aiming them at Daemon. A sapphire-blue beam erupted from the point where her hands met, surrounded by a swirling white mist. It struck Daemon, encasing her head to toe in crystal-clear ice. It wasn't enough, however....moments later, a cracking sound split the air as a single fissure spread across the surface of the ice. Moments later, the entire block of ice splintered apart. Daemon now stood on a stretch of pavement that was both badly scorched and covered with shards of shattered ice.  
  
Producing a few fireballs of her own, Daemon fired two quick shots and blasted both Jareth and Electra out of the air.  
  
Managing somehow to land on his feet, Jareth switched to the angriest mask he had. He flexed his bony white fingers, his black fingernails extending into the razor-sharp, six-inch-long claws that ran in his family. Rather stupidly, he lunged at his mother.  
  
Daemon grabbed Jareth's outstretched arm and swung him around her head, hurling him back towards the P.O. The Viral Guardian struck Electra as he flew, knocking her from the air. The two of them struck what was left of the stone wall of the Principal Office, and slid to the ground...out cold.  
  
Matrix drew his Gun and leveled it at Daemon's head, but the Supervirus blasted the firearm from his hand before he could get a shot off. Matrix yelled out in pain, clutching his scorched hand. A second blast from Daemon caught him upside the head, and a moment later, he fell to the ground, unconscious.  
  
Slowing down, Daemon turned to Bob and Kit, the only uninjured opponents she had remaining.  
  
"Who's next?" she asked, casually examining her nails.  
  
Kit stepped forward, but Bob held her back. "I am," he said.  
  
********************  
  
"Truly. Are you sure you wouldn't like me to finish off your friend there first? It's very rude of you, you know. Getting yourself deleted and leaving no one to protect her."  
  
"Kit's a Guardian. She doesn't need my protection."  
  
"Indeed? Then why, may I ask, are you so anxious to go first?"  
  
Right on cue, one of the petrified signposts on the street crumbled to dust.  
  
"Ah," Daemon said. "I see. That little bug of yours is more destructive than it seems. Petrifies first, then destroys? And I suppose the pattern is low energy first, then higher? Hmmm....I suppose that your friends can't all be Guardians, can they?" Daemon took a few steps closer, deliberately taunting Bob. The Guardian's face was strained; his fists were clutched at his sides. Daemon grinned maliciously.  
  
"That's right," she said. "Only Guardians are immune, correct? So I suppose the rest of your friends are just standing around the System. Not long now before they all start to decompose. They're all going to crumble to dust. Everyone you love, everyone you care about, they're all going to waste away, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it."  
  
Bob's lips parted in a grimace. Small arclets of static electricity ran across his chrome- plated Glitch Armor. Sweat began to bead on his forehead. Daemon's grin grew still broader.  
  
"Well? No angry words? No witty comeback? Come on, Guardian. I'm the only thing standing between you and your friends' lives. Haven't you got ANYTHING to say?"  
  
Bob actually grinned. "I can't," he said. His eyes flicked towards something over Daemon's shoulder. "I'm concentrating."  
  
Daemon caught that glance, and her face fell instantly. She spun around, looked up...her eyes widened, but it was too late.  
  
The large chunk of levitating concrete fell as Bob released his telekinetic hold, catching Daemon completely off-guard. Kit flinched at the sound of crunching bone, and even Bob blinked.  
  
"Is she...?"  
  
"Deleted?" Bob asked. "Probably." With a wave of his hand, Bob began to lift some of the rubble off of the Supervirus. Once she was visible, it became clear that she was, indeed, dead.  
  
A third voice rang out from behind them. "So that's it?"  
  
Kit and Bob spun round, and there was Jareth, crouched amid the rubble. Electra had been propped in a sitting position against the ruined wall beside him, but she was still unconscious. Matrix sat on the rubble beside him, a surly expression somewhere beneath his broken jaw.  
  
"You're awake?"  
  
"Apparently."  
  
"And just how long have you been sitting there?"  
  
"Long enough," Jareth stood and walked over to where his mother's prone body lay, limping only slightly. "So that's it? Game over?"  
  
Bob nodded.  
  
"Bit of an anticlimax, no?" Jareth nudged Daemon's body with his foot.  
  
"I don't care. It's over. Can you release the Medusa?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The city is stone," Kit explained. "Can you un-stone it?"  
  
"Oh!" Jareth said. "No. Ask Hex."  
  
"You called?" Hexadecimal asked, appearing beside him.  
  
"Where have you been? Mom's dead," Jareth said.  
  
"Is she?" Hexadecimal appeared surprised, but didn't seem depressed in the least. She half-turned, glancing at Daemon's broken body. "Er....why is she still there?"  
  
Bob blinked. Kit looked to him for an explanation, but he had none. Jareth was equally bewildered.  
  
The five of them gathered in a close knot around Daemon's body, but then it began to give off a bright white glow, and the Mainframers backed off as quickly as they could.  
  
As the light faded, Daemon's features changed. Her skin lightened from a deep purple to a brilliant fuchsia. Her sightless, unblinking eyes faded, no longer solid black. They were now normal sprite's eyes, the irises a deep emerald green. Her form-fitting black leather flowed like clay, changing into the supple blue body armor of a Guardian, complete with solid gold bracers. Her dark green hair faded to a golden blonde. She no longer looked anything like the Supervirus they had known...but she still looked stupefyingly familiar to Jareth's fragmented memory.  
  
Matrix recognized her from her portrait in the Hall of Guardians. He managed to blurt out her name, despite his broken jaw. "Sierra?"  
  
No sooner was the word out of his mouth than the body began to glow once more. However, this time it was no gentle glow, but a shockwave that blasted everyone back from the former Prime Guardian. As they watched, Sierra's mouth opened, and out came what appeared to be a large, silver snake. It grew in size as it emerged, unfurling great, long, taloned arms. When it had finally separated completely, it was at least three times longer than the height of an average sprite, and it was far from clear how it had ever managed to get into Sierra's body in the first place.  
  
The large silver dragon turned it's leviathan head, flicking the air with it's forked tongue. It glared malevolently at the small group of sprites that had unmasked it.  
  
Hexadecimal snapped her fingers. Instantly, the stone receded, and the system came to life once more. Moments later, the other Mainframers had joined them, and stood in a circle around Daemon's true form.  
  
Daemon reared back and roared, shooting off a small silver orb into the skies above them. When it reached it's apex, it exploded, leaving a shining, silvery orb in it's wake.  
  
Kicking off with her powerful hind legs, Daemon rose from the ground, swimming through the air as a fish through water. Before anyone had time to react, Daemon had vanished into her portal. The portal winked closed behind her, as if it had never been.  
  
Daemon had fled, escaping to parts unknown.  
  
To be continued........ 


	7. Welcome to Wonderland

Chapter 6: Welcome to Wonderland  
  
With a bright flash and an earth-shattering explosion, a large tear opened just outside the port of Mainframe, and the Saucy Mare pulled into the harbor.  
  
"Ahhh…home, sweet home," Dot said, leaning against the railing. Suddenly, a thought struck her. "Did anyone remember to contact Phong and tell him about Daemon?" she asked, turning to the Sprites behind her.  
  
"I think Bob called ahead," AndrAIa said. "I'm not sure how much he told him, though. Something about the line not being  
  
secure."  
  
Dot nodded, and turned back to face Mainframe. Bob and Matrix were the only two Mainframers to remain in the Supercomputer, hoping to help clean up the mess Daemon had made….not to mention that caused by the battle itself. Meanwhile, the rest had returned to Mainframe.  
  
A loud thunk shook Dot from her thoughts. Looking to her right, she realized that the gangplank had been lowered. Sprites and Binomes alike began to disembark…some, like Jareth, eschewed the gangplank in favor of flight. Electra stood at the edge of the gangplank, undecided. Jareth turned to face her, still hovering in midair.  
  
"Coming, 'Lectra?"  
  
"Ummm…sure." Electra climbed up onto the railing then leapt off into the air…and promptly fell, splashing down into the energy sea.  
  
"Lectra?" Jareth flew back toward the place where Electra had fallen in, and peered down into the liquid energy. Within  
  
moments, Electra's head broke the surface.  
  
Jareth set down on the pier as Electra dragged herself from the harbor onto the dock.  
  
"Guess I still don't have this flying thing down yet," she said. Grabbing a handful of her aquamarine dress and beginning to  
  
wring it out, Electra stopped, puzzled. The fabric was completely dry. "Huh?"  
  
"That's…interesting." Jareth peered curiously at the handful of cloth.  
  
"Are you okay, Electra?" Dot asked, walking over to her.  
  
"I'm fine," Electra said. "I'm not even wet."  
  
Dot shot her a puzzled look. "What exactly happened to you back in the Supercomputer?"  
  
Electra related the tale of how she had put on Daemon's experimental mask, after being dunked into an ominous vat of glowing liquid.  
  
"And that's what turned me into….this," Electra finished. The experience had certainly changed her, Dot mused. Instead of her normal green skin and blackish-white hair, she now had turquoise hair, and a mask-like face similar to Hexadecimal's, but metallic gold. "I think you should get a complete scan at the P.O. There's no telling what other effects that goop might have had."  
  
"You really think so?"  
  
Dot nodded, then removed her organizer from her belt. She quickly dialed in a sequence of numbers.  
  
"Yes, what is it?" The voice on the other end snapped.  
  
"Phong?" Dot asked, taken aback by the old sprite's tone.  
  
"Oh, it's you. Well, what do you want?"  
  
"I….I was wondering if you'd have time to do a code scan for Electra. She had a bit of trouble at the Supercomputer, and-"  
  
"I'm very busy. But if it's that important, I suppose I can squeeze her in. Tell her to report to the Principal Office  
  
Infirmary cycle after next."  
  
"Cycle after next? But Phong, this could be-"  
  
"Thank you for calling." With that, the elderly sprite at the other end of the line simply hung up.  
  
"Wow. What's with him?" Electra asked.  
  
"I guess he had had a lot on his mind lately." Dot shrugged.  
  
"If you ask me, the old guy's finally flipped." Jareth said. He yawned, stretching the ebony wings that grew from his back.  
  
"So, you're scheduled for the cycle after next. What'll you do 'till then?" Dot asked.  
  
Electra shrugged. "I guess I'll go home. I've got a lot of cleaning to do." Electra started in the direction of her old apartment, then seemed to think better of it. Grabbing Jareth by the sleeve, she began pulling him along with her. "Come on,  
  
Featherhead. You can help me dust."  
  
* * *  
  
"RRGH!" Using all of his strength, Matrix forced a large chink of mortar back into position, filling a gaping hole in one of  
  
the walls of the Supercomputer's P.O. As he held it, Bob focused the energies of his Keytool download, his beams of golden light fusing the stone back in place.  
  
"That should just about do it," Bob said.  
  
Matrix relaxed his grip on the wall, and the block of slate held.  
  
"Well, there's that one done." Bob said. "Ready to move to the next building?"  
  
Matrix nodded. It was far too much trouble to talk since he'd broken his jaw during his fight with Daemon. He could talk when he had to, but he preferred not to.  
  
The two moved on to the next building, but before they could begin their reconstructions, they were approached by an official looking Guardian carrying a briefcase.  
  
"Which of you is Guardian 452?" He asked, in a snooty, oddly familiar voice.  
  
"I am," Bob said, a puzzled expression on his face. "Why?"  
  
Faster than the eye could follow, the Guardian opened his briefcase, removed a holodisc, snapped the case shut, and presented the disc to Bob.  
  
"By order of the Guardian Collective, you are under arrest for the deletion of Prime Guardian Sierra Server. You have the right to remain silent…."  
  
Bob was so shocked he didn't even hear the rest. He flipped the switch on the holodisc, activating it's message. There was no doubting the holographic words that floated inches above the disc's polished surface….this was indeed an official arrest  
  
warrant. But why? Yes, he had deleted Sierra…sort of. He'd only been trying to defeat Daemon. No one had known that Daemon's body was actually that of Sierra, taken over by an infectious, sepentine virus. But…now that he thought about it, there was no denying the fact that he had, indeed, erased a  
  
Prime Guardian…a crime punishable  
  
by deletion.  
  
"You can't be serious!" Matrix exclaimed, despite the pain in his mouth. "Bob saved this system! He saved the entire Net! How could you possibly-"  
  
"Yes, yes," The Guardian didn't seem to care. "I'm afraid arguing about this on the streets won't help anyone. I'm afraid  
  
you'll have to save it for court."  
  
This sprite was infuriating…and SO familiar.  
  
"Have I met you before? What's your name?"  
  
The Guardian looked down his nose at Matrix. "I assure, you, sir, that I would never associate with…your sort. But if you must know, my name is Driver."  
  
The Guardian reached behind his back and produced a pair of binders. "And as for you, Guardian 452…I'm afraid you'll have to come with me."  
  
* * *  
  
"Yeesh, what a mess." Jareth pawed through one of the piles of junk on the floor, unearthing old toys, tools, photos, and what ay have been the remains of the Lost City of Atlantis. "When was the last time you cleaned in here?"  
  
"Keep in mind that I haven't lived here for seconds."  
  
"Oh, yeah."  
  
Electra pulled a dust-laden object off the floor and shook it off. "Hey, J, remember this?"  
  
Jareth switched to a squinting face. "Hey, yeah! That's the dress you wore to that party that one time."  
  
"Ahh…there IS a memory in there…somewhere."  
  
Suddenly, the System's female voice resounded throughout the sector. "Warning-Incoming game! Warning-Incoming game!"  
  
"Uh-oh…" Electra said, looking up at the ceiling.  
  
"Goody! A game." Jareth switched to a grin. "I haven't played a Game in a long time. Hope it's a good one."  
  
As he spoke, the Game landed, sealing off the entire area. Jareth and Electra looked around, taking in the scenery.  
  
"Looks pretty bleak. I wonder what kind of twisted mind created this one."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Jareth asked. "This is awesome. Like something out of a Tim Burton movie."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Never mind. So, what's the game?"  
  
"BuBBle-game stats."  
  
Electra's Keytool brought up a Holographic display, several times larger than the Keytool's actual screen.  
  
"The Game's called Allison."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Don't ask me. I think it's a name."  
  
"And the objective?"  
  
"The User plays a girl called Allison. She has to make her way through Miracleland…I'm assuming THIS is Miracleland….and get to the end." Elecra shrugged. "That's it."  
  
"Okay," Jareth said.  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"Now we ReBoot."  
  
"Ahh…right. I remember now." Jareth double-clicked the Icon in the center of his chestplate, and Electra followed suit. "ReBoot!"  
  
In a flash of green light, the game's data was downloaded into their codes.  
  
Electra looked down at herself. "Ummm…."  
  
She was wearing a blue frilly dress, covered by a white apron. "What in the World Wide Web?" She looked over at Jareth, who was wearing a similar expression. Instead of being nearly six feet tall and covered in black clothing, he was now barely three feet tall and covered sparsely with coarse fur. He was apparently some sort of cat….albeit a mangy, flea-ridden cat, the sort that you would chase off with a broom if it followed you home, instead of asking to keep it.  
  
"Don't ask me."  
  
Electra consulted her Keytool. "What the…we're…..the Users?"  
  
"Pardon me?"  
  
"We're the Users. I'm Allison. You're the Yorkschire Cat …sort of my guide. Why in the Net are WE playing the User's  
  
characters?"  
  
Jareth gave the feline version of a shrug. "Maybe the Game glitched. That happens sometimes. Or it could be a Viral thing."  
  
"I guess it doesn't matter at this point." Electra suddenly noticed that something was in her pocket. Reaching in, she drew  
  
forth a long, curved butcher knife.  
  
"What the…"  
  
"It's called a Vorpal Blade," Jareth informed her.  
  
Again, Electra consulted her Keytool. "That's right. How did you know that?"  
  
Again, Jareth shrugged. "Dunno. Must come with my character."  
  
Electra shook her head. "This is too weird. All right…we're supposed to be heading…that way."  
  
Electra started off in the direction that BuBBle indicated. Jareth, following the instincts he'd downloaded from the Game, faded to invisibility, until only his grin remained.  
  
"This…should be interesting."  
  
* * *  
  
"Enzo, are you serious?"  
  
"Dead serious. Sis, he's on trial as we speak. Do you know what the penalties are for deleting a Prime Guardian? What do we do?"  
  
Dot sighed. "Enzo, calm down. I'll be right there."  
  
"But by the time you get here…"  
  
"I know…I know. I'll contact Phong. Maybe he'll know what to do. Hold on." Dot put Matrix on hold, then dialed up Phong.  
  
"What?" Phong snapped, his face appearing in the Vidwindow and looking very annoyed.  
  
"Phong….Bob's been arrested. They're trying him for the deletion of Prime Guardian Server. What-"  
  
"Well, then, he shouldn't have deleted Sierra, should he? He deserves whatever they give him. Now don't call me again unless it's something important!"  
  
With that, the Vidwindow closed.  
  
Dot glared, and brought Matrix's Vidwindow back up. "Well?"  
  
"Enzo…I'll call you back."  
  
* * *  
  
Driver may have been a genuine ASCII, but there was no doubt about it, he was an extremely good prosecutor. "Isn't it true, Guardian 452, that Supercomputer regulations require all Guardians to perform extensive scans on any and all Viral agents before deletion?"  
  
Bob swallowed. "Yes. It is."  
  
"And isn't it true that you failed to perform such sensor scans before attacking the entity presumed to be the Supervirus known as Daemon?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Guardian 452, why was it that you failed to perform such sensor sweeps as were required by Supercomputer regulations?"  
  
"Daemon was about to destroy a friend and fellow Guardian. I had no choice but to act."  
  
"And the rule book went out the window."  
  
"Daemon had been scanned before, during a prior attack on my assigned system, Mainframe. I expected that any abnormalities would have shown during those scans, which I studied before our attack on the Supercomputer."  
  
"Guardian 452, this regulation was set in place due to a common practice of Viruses: the Self-destruct clause. If the Virus is deleted, the clause activates and causes a massive explosion, potentially fatal to those nearby. Isn't it true that Daemon could  
  
have installed such a program after her attack on your system? "  
  
"Well…yes. But-"  
  
"Even if Daemon's vessel hadn't turned out to be Prime Guardian Server, you would still have been negligent in your duties as a Guardian. Isn't that true?"  
  
"Yes…I suppose it is."  
  
"No further questions, Your Honor."  
  
Driver strode back to his desk. Turbo, who had insisted on acting as Judge during this trial, turned to the Jury.  
  
"Has the jury reached a verdict?"  
  
The jury foreman stood. 'We have, Your Honor."  
  
* * *  
  
Grunting, Electra pulled her Vorpal Blade from the torso of the giant ant.  
  
"Well, that was pleasant." Electra looked around. "Jareth?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
Jareth appeared, piece by piece, on a nearby branch. "You called?"  
  
"Yeah. What's the deal with these ants?"  
  
"Game Sprites. You're meant to kill them." Jareth looked at the butchered ant. "Oh. You've figured that part out already."  
  
"It wasn't difficult. Where do you keep going?"  
  
"I'm not supposed to show up 'till you call me."  
  
"So I get to do this alone?" Electra pointed the blade at Jareth. "That's not fair."  
  
"All right, all right. Just staying in character. That reminds me, you're supposed to speak with a British accent."  
  
"Bite me. Listen, where do we go from here?"  
  
Jareth shrugged.  
  
"You're supposed to know these things!"  
  
"I'm also supposed to keep a few things from you. Where's the fun if I just tell you everything?"  
  
"Games aren't supposed to be fun!"  
  
"Says who?"  
  
"Everyone!"  
  
"Get real. I don't know everyone, and neither do you."  
  
If Electra could have reached him, she would have slapped him. Just as she was wondering whether she had anything to throw at him, a small movement caught her eye. Turning, she spotted a dilapidated rabbit with white fur hop past. It stopped just in front of her, looked at her expectantly, taped it's foot, and hopped off again.  
  
Electra looked up at Jareth.  
  
"Well? Can't you take a hint?" So saying, Jareth vanished.  
  
Electra cursed under her breath, then began chasing after the rabbit. "Of all the Sprites to get stuck in a Game with…"  
  
* * *  
  
Bob lay flat on his cot, staring up at the ceiling of his cell. He'd only been here for a few nanos, but already it seemed as  
  
though a cycle had passed.  
  
"Guardian 452?"  
  
Bob sat up on his cot, so as to look the prison guard in the eye.  
  
"You have visitors."  
  
The guard moved aside, and behind him in the doorway stood Matrix.  
  
"Matrix?"  
  
"Yeah. How they treating you?"  
  
"It could be worse."  
  
"I brought someone," Matrix stepped aside, and his sister entered the room.  
  
Dot purposefully walked up to the bars.  
  
"Oh, Bob…."  
  
"Dot. Hey," Bob wiped a tear from Dot's cheek. "Don't cry. I got off light."  
  
"You call life without parole light?!" Matrix asked.  
  
"Beats the alternative," Bob said. If he was at all distraught, he was hiding it well.  
  
"Bob, don't worry. I've been going through the Guardian regulations and statutes. I'm going to try to overturn the verdict."  
  
Dot sniffed, then smiled. "I got here as soon as I heard. I hoped I'd make the trial….but I can at least make the appeal.  
  
"Good luck," Bob said. Bob pulled Dot closer, and whispered in her ear. Dot listened, eyes wide, then nodded. Bob gave her a quick kiss through the bars, then held her at arms length by the shoulders. "Go on," he said.  
  
Dot nodded again, the walked from the cell block.  
  
Matrix started to follow.  
  
"Matrix," Bob stopped him.  
  
Matrix turned.  
  
"Watch out for her. And do me a favor, keep an eye on Driver." Bob grinned. "You know which one."  
  
Matrix returned the grin, nodded, and followed his sister from the prison block.  
  
* * *  
  
Back in Mainframe, things had gotten decidedly worse. The skies overhead had darkened, and it wasn't just the Game Cube's fault. It seemed like the rain had taken up permanent residence over the System. AndrAIa glanced out the window with a wistful sigh, then leaned back on the couch. Enzo sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, watching TV.  
  
And not just any TV.  
  
"All this and more can be yours for only-"  
  
"99.99.99," Enzo said, before Mike could. Enzo was the only person in Mainframe who could out-talk Mike the TV. "Honestly, Mike, isn't there anything on besides infomercials?"  
  
"Sorry, kid," Mike said, his screen cutting the broadcast and displaying only his eyes. As usual, he tended to overplay the  
  
drama. "This awful storm has wreaked havok on my reception! When, oh, when will this madness end?!"  
  
"Guys, keep it down," AndrAIa said. Something outside the window had caught her eye. Despite the overcast skies, she had distinctly seen something in the bushes by the front of her house.  
  
"Mike, take Enzo out the back. Go to Dot's and wait."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Just do it, Mike."  
  
Mike and Enzo exchanged a glance, then headed for the back door. AndrAIa removed the small cylinder from her belt, and fingered the button on the side, extending it into her razor-edged trident.  
  
Quickly and quietly as she could, AndrAIa snuck out the door and crept into the front yard. Almost immediately, she grimaced: few things were worse for walking through soft soil than high heels. She really ought to invest in a pair of sneakers. She made a mental note to ask Mouse where she'd gotten her boots.  
  
The bushes outside proved empty. For a moment, AndrAIa wondered whether she could be losing her touch.  
  
That's when the house exploded.  
  
* * *  
  
Mike ran, almost dragging Enzo along with him.  
  
"Mike! Stop! What's the hurry?"  
  
Mike put on a western accent. "The Lil' lady said to get you to safety. Well, that's just what I aim to do, partner."  
  
Just then, an ear-shattering explosion from behind rocked the very earth beneath their feet. Both Sprites stopped short, and turned around. In the distance behind them, a thin plume of smoke rose into the cloudy air, almost immediately dissipated by the heavy rain. The smoke seemed to be coming from….  
  
Enzo gasped. "AndrAIa…"  
  
Mike took Enzo's hand, pulling him again. "Come on."  
  
Numbly, Enzo allowed Mike to lead him towards Dot's Diner. The most popular eatery in Mainframe had long been like Enzo's second home for almost as long as he could remember. The 50's style Diner was just about in sight, when the two were stopped by a voice from above.  
  
"Enzo!"  
  
Enzo looked up. "Mouse?"  
  
The hacker landed her zipboard on the pavement just in front of him. "Enzo, Ah heard that explosion. Are y'all all right?"  
  
"I'm fine," Enzo said. "AndrAIa sent us out of the house before it happened. But she stayed behind…"  
  
Mouse's face fell. "Enzo…Ah….were y'all headed for the Diner?"  
  
Enzo nodded.  
  
"Well…let's go."  
  
The three started back towards the Diner.  
  
That's when the Diner exploded.  
  
* * *  
  
"It's called a WHAT?"  
  
"A Jackbomb," Jareth said. The object in question resembled nothing so much as a Jack-in-the-Box.  
  
"So what's it do?"  
  
"On impact, a triggering mechanism activates a chemical reaction within the device, resulting in a devastating explosion  
  
potentially fatal to anyone within range."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You throw it, and it goes 'boom'."  
  
"Ah. That might be useful." Electra pocketed the Jackbomb.  
  
"So, what happens now?"  
  
"Card," Jareth said.  
  
"I beg your pardon?"  
  
"I said, 'card'."  
  
"I heard you," Electra said. "What does that mean?"  
  
"Move to the right," Jareth said, "Now."  
  
For once, Electra didn't question him…and a good thing, too. A long, twisted spear flew right through the space she had  
  
previously been occupying, embedding itself in the wall. The house they were in was twisted and decayed, and rubble partially obscured most of the hallways. Nonetheless, the creature that now approached Electra found ample room to pass. It was shaped like a giant, rectangular playing card, but horribly twisted into a travesty of the plaything after which it was modeled. And somehow, it had gotten it's hands on another spear.  
  
"Oh, Hell," Electra said, "always something."  
  
* * *  
  
Bob was awake. He blinked, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes. Something had awakened him. There it was again. A soft, scuttling sound. It was getting louder…getting closer. Bob leapt off of the cot, and hovered there in midair. At his mental command, his chrome armor began to emit a soft, golden light.  
  
There, illuminated by his glow, was a small mechanical device, shaped like a spider.  
  
"A trilobug, Megabyte? I'm insulted. I thought you'd at least appear in person."  
  
The trilobug opened a hatch on the top of it's body, revealing a holo-emitter. In less than a nano, a simulated version of  
  
Megabyte appeared before him. Bob's anger rose at the sight of him, but even he had to admit that megabyte looked much better in black and gold, although the tentacles were a bit much.  
  
"Yes, please do excuse my rudeness, Bob. I didn't think it wise to appear in person here, in the very heart of the  
  
Supercomputer's Principal Office. Tell me, how are you enjoying life in prison, Bob?"  
  
"Cut the small talk, Megabyte. What are you up to?"  
  
"Why, what else, Bob? Revenge."  
  
"Against me?"  
  
"Whatever would I have against you? No, no, I'm speaking of that…boy."  
  
"Matrix."  
  
"Yes, and let's not forget that wretched hacker friend of yours. The point is, you've grown much more powerful than the last time we met…otherwise you never could have defeated Daemon. I can get to your friends so much more easily with you out of the way." Megabyte chuckled. "And to think, you've been defeated by the rules of your own people. That's rather ironic, no?"  
  
"Driver's working for you, isn't he?"  
  
"My dear Bob…you have no idea." Megabyte chuckled again, and with that, the simulation faded. The trilobug began emitting bright blue sparks, then exploded in a small burst of flame. Each fragment vanished as though it were evaporating.  
  
"You've let more slip than you think, Megabyte."  
  
* * *  
  
"That's it, I give up," Electra said. I've searched every inch of this mansion, and there's no way out."  
  
"Of course there is," Jareth said, appearing on the table next to her.  
  
"And would you stop doing that? It's very unnerving."  
  
"Is? It? Now?" Jareth asked, vanishing and reappearing around the room with each word. Electra put her head in her hands. "How am I going to get out of this?"  
  
"By finding the exit."  
  
Electra shot a look at Jareth. "There's an exit?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Where is it?"  
  
"Where's what?"  
  
"The exit!"  
  
"What exit?"  
  
Electra made an exhasperatted noise. "It's impossible to get anything out of you."  
  
"Not if you ask the right questions."  
  
Electra considered carefully. "How do I get to the next level?"  
  
"Ahh, now that's more like it."  
  
Jareth disappeared again. Electra looked around the room, but couldn't see him anywhere. Suddenly, a loud crash from behind nearly made her jump out of her skin. She spun around. There was Jareth, quietly bathing himself in the manner of a cat, seated atop a recently toppled bookshelf. A door, which had lay hidden behind it, was now revealed.  
  
"Ahh. Now, we're getting somewhere," Electra said.  
  
* * *  
  
"You want to do what?!"  
  
"Sneak into his room. Come on, Bob said to keep an eye on Driver."  
  
"He didn't mention breaking and entering."  
  
Normally, Dot would be putting up more of a fight than this, but she seemed slightly open to the idea. Matrix figured it must have been something Bob had said.  
  
"All right, let's go. But if we get caught…."  
  
"We won't," Matrix promised. "Now come on."  
  
* * *  
  
"It's just…gone," Enzo said, gazing forlornly at the smoldering remains of the Diner.  
  
"At least no one was in there," Mouse said, putting a comforting arm around him.  
  
Suddenly, a cough came from amid the ruins.  
  
"Is that….so?" a voice said. It was very weak, but there was no mistaking that accent.  
  
"Cecil?" Enzo asked.  
  
The small Sprite leapt into the rubble and followed the sound of Cecil's voice. His casing was rather badly tarnished and  
  
slightly dented, but otherwise, he seemed to be okay.  
  
"I cannot believe zees has happened again! I am a dedicated server! I am not to be used for target practice!"  
  
"Cecil, can you tell us what happened?" Mouse asked.  
  
"What happened? Oui, madame, I can tell you wat happened. Ze building exploded, zat eez what happened!"  
  
"Excuse me, but could you be just a little more specific?" Mike asked.  
  
"Very well. I vas preparing to close for ze evening, ven suddenly zees strange zing cameinto ze Diner. It just floated zere,  
  
hovering, as zough it were waiting for somezing…and zen, most rudely, I might add, eet exploded!"  
  
"What did it look like?" Mouse asked.  
  
"Eef I am not mistaken, madame, zat eez eet over zere..or wat is left of eet, anyway." Cecil pointed over to one of the more decimated lumps of slag. But, slagged or not, there was no mistaking what it was.  
  
"Mouse…isn't that…"  
  
"An energy puck, Enzo. I think it's time we had a word with our old friend Phong."  
  
* * *  
  
Bob paced back and forth in his cell. After his conversation with megabyte, he hadn't been able to sleep at all. If Megabyte was indeed after Matrix…then what would be the worst thing he could possibly do? Not delete him…that'd be too quick. Not painful enough. Not his style. No, Megabyte would want to do some lasting damage….and it didn't have to be physical. Megabyte would go after something that Matrix cared about. And what did Matrix care about most?  
  
Two things. AndrAI, and….  
  
Bob froze, a look of dawning comprehension on his face. "Dot."  
  
* * *  
  
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish Jareth was here," Matrix said. "He could pick that lock in to time."  
  
"There are other ways of getting around locks, little brother," Dot said. So saying, she knelt down and lifted the welcome mat in front of Driver's door. Rising to her feet, she held up a small silver key. "Not too smart for a Guardian."  
  
Dot opened the door, and the two of them entered the room.  
  
Dot's first impression was that the Sprite had an appalling sense of taste. She almost immediately revised this opinion….the sprite had no taste at all. The walls were white…no pictures, no paint, no decorations of any sort…just white. The rest of the furniture…what furniture there was…was a dull gray, which clashed with the white in a way that more or less exactly failed to please the eye.  
  
Matrix didn't seem to notice. The golden cybernetic eye that dominated his face began to whirr, first turning around, then  
  
glowing a violent red.  
  
"See anything?" Dot asked.  
  
"Not yet…just gimme a few nanos…woah."  
  
Matrix was staring at the closet.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
For answer, he walked across the room and opened it. A Sprite, completely unconscious, fell out, and Matrix barely moved fast enough to catch it.  
  
"Is he okay?" Dot asked.  
  
"I dunno…" matrix turned him over, hoping to assess the Sprite's condition..and gasped when he saw the face.  
  
"Dot…it's Driver."  
  
"But we just saw Driver leave..gkkk…"  
  
"Dot?"  
  
Matrix looked up at his sister…and was shocked to see fingers closing on her neck.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ummm…what's with the hat?"  
  
"I dunno," Jareth said. "But ask him where he got it."  
  
Electra slowly approached the man at the long table. He was sipping a cup of what appeared to be tea, and wearing a ridiculous black-and-white checked hat.  
  
"Hey, you," Electra said. "My friend wants to know where you got your hat."  
  
The man said nothing, just pushed a cup of tea towards her.  
  
"Ummm…no, thanks. But listen, can you tell me what the deal is with this…thing?" All around them were cogs, gears, and pulleys, and Electra suspected that figuring out the nature of this machine was instrumental to winning the Game.  
  
Again, the man said nothing…but pushed the teacup more isnsitently towards her.  
  
"Umm…no. I don't want any tea. Thanks anyway."  
  
Electra looked over at Jareth and shrugged. Jareth vanished, and Electra continued on her way.  
  
Jareth reappeared just ahead of her, facing back the way she came. "Umm…'Lectra? I think maybe you should have taken the tea."  
  
Electra turned, and saw the Hatter approaching, a large knife in his hand. She sighed. "Will this game never end?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Driver! But…" Matrix looked first at the river who lay stunned on the floor, then to the one holding his sister by the throat. Only his shock at seeing two Drivers kept him from pulling his gun right away.  
  
Driver…the standing one…chuckled…a very familiar chuckle. "Yes, yes, yes. Do you mind if I get out of costume? I'm awfully tired of it." As he spoke, the borrowed skin began to strain, then to tear, as the much larger, metallic form beneath burst  
  
forth.  
  
"Megabyte!" Matrix snarled. He drew his Gun, aiming for Megabyte's head.  
  
"Ah, ah, ah….you wouldn't want to hit your dear sister, now would you?"  
  
Matrix scowled still more, but lowered his Gun.  
  
"That's right…put the Gun on the ground."  
  
Matrix hesitated.  
  
"Now!" Megabyte barked.  
  
Matrix kneeled, placed Gun on the ground, and kicked it towards Megabyte.  
  
"That's better. I must say, after our last two battles, I expected a great deal more from you, Boy. However DID you manage to fall for such an obvious trap? Did you honestly think any sensible Guardian would leave the key beneath the mat?"  
  
Megabyte was obviously enjoying this. He raised one of his arms, leveling his knuckles at Dot's neck. Slowly, he extended the two claws on either side of his hand, until only the center claw remained retracted.  
  
"Do you know what I'm going to do now, boy? Because of everything you've put me through, I'm going to take away everything you've ever cared about. I'm going to let you live long enough to see each and every person you've ever loved be deleted and then, when I'm done, I'll erase you. But I'm going to start…" Megabyte began to extend his middle claw. "With your sister."  
  
"There's one mistake the villain always makes," came a sudden voice from behind Megabyte. The Virus spun, releasing his  
  
hostage…something he immediately regretted.  
  
"They always talk too much," Bob said. With a single blast, he knocked Megabyte back into the wall and held him there. "Dot, are you okay?" he asked, never taking his eyes off the struggling Virus.  
  
"Yes...I'm fine."  
  
"Matrix?"  
  
"Me, too."  
  
"Good. Megabyte, you're going to jail. You're going directly to jail. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 units, and do NOT drop the soap."  
  
"Foolish Guardian. Do you honestly think you can take me to jail? The moment you release your hold, I'll simply tear you  
  
apart….and you can't hold me here indefinitely."  
  
"I just escaped from a maximum security cell, Megabyte. Guardians will be crawling all over this place in a matter of nanos.You lose."  
  
"I haven't lost yet, Guardian. After all…I have an…ally…in Mainframe, taking care of the rest for me. I'm afraid the Game Sprite is already gone. The younger version as well."  
  
Matrix shot an alarmed look at Bob.  
  
"Go, Enzo. Get back to Mainframe. It might not be too late."  
  
Matrix left the room, followed closely by Dot.  
  
Megabyte began to laugh….that cruel evil laugh that Bob always wanted to hit….and this time, Bob hit it.  
  
* * *  
  
"And who would that be?"  
  
"The Red Queen. Final boss. Beat her, and we can go home."  
  
The Red Queen resembled a chess piece that had fallen into a vat of steroids. It had at least four too many arms, and each was wielding a cruel, twisted-looking weapon.  
  
"All right. Let's go. Hang on…" Electra glanced at Jareth, who stayed put for once. 'You are going to help me out here, right? I mean, actually help? No more cryptic riddles or mind games?"  
  
Jareth sighed. "I suppose if you insist."  
  
"All right, then." Electra charged the Red Queen, Vorpal Sword drawn. The Queen spotted her coming, and brought around one of her arms, this one holding a morningstar….a steel ball covered with twisted spikes, attached to a handle by a barbed chain. It wrapped around the sword, and The Red Queen, almost effortlessly, yanked it out of her grasp. Bringing around another arm, this one holding a pike, she knocked Electra's feet out from under her, and then raised yet another  
  
arm, this one holding an axe.  
  
"REEEOWW!" With a screech like an untamed animal (which he was), Jareth pounced on the Red Queen's face, scratching and biting.  
  
The Queen matched his screech with her own howl of rage, tearing the cat from her face and throwing him across the throne room. Before he hit the wall, Jareth vanished…and reappeared on the other side of the Queen, still with all his momentum. The Queen was too fast, though…she raised her axe, and Jareth hit it edge first. In an instant, he found himself sliced in twain, and lying on the ground bleeding.  
  
"Jareth!" Electra ran over to Jareth…well, to his front half. "Jareth…are you okay?"  
  
"Why does everyone always ask me that? Do I LOOK okay?"  
  
In spite of herself, Electra smiled. "Just sit tight. You'll be okay."  
  
"Sit tight? On what? My intestines?" Jareth coughed, spitting out the crimson blood that was unique in all of Mainframe.  
  
"Electra…finish it. You have to…"  
  
"Jareth?"  
  
"Have to…"  
  
"Jareth, speak to me!"  
  
"You have to turn around."  
  
Electra spun around….and found herself face-to face with the Red Queen…not the best person to just forget about.  
  
Electra executed a quick backflip to put some distance between herself and her opponent.  
  
"Bubble-Umm…Flamethrower!" With a click and a whir, BuBBle complied and Electra found herself holding what appeared to be a Super Soaker. Aiming it at the Queen and pulling the trigger, Electra fired a sizzling ribbon of green flame that caught the crimson monarch right in her face…well, right where her face would have been, if she'd had one. The smooth, round surface of her head began to melt, but the Queen seemed undaunted. With a single swipe of the Queen's axe, BuBBle went flying. Electra clutched at her wrist…she felt sure it'd been broken by the force of the Queen's swing; she'd heard the bones twisting, the tendons snapping. The Queen advanced, and Electra took a step back….but as the Queen stepped forward, she stepped directly upon the prone body of the cat lying in her path. Electra winced as she heard it's ribs crack….and immediately, her vision began to blur. Her eyes seemed to fill with blood, and she saw the world through a red haze.  
  
With her undamaged left hand, Electra reached into her apron pocket and withdrew her Jackbomb. Screaming, Electra threw the bomb hard as she could, right for the Queen's half-melted head.  
  
It all seemed to happen in slow motion…the Jackbomb flying through the air, the Queen raising her pike….the bomb being knocked aside, and flying through the air, right back towards Electra's face. Before she could react, the bomb exploded, and Electra found herself being thrown back across the throne room, where she lay on the floor, broken and bleeding. The last thing she saw as the blood trickling down her face obscured her vision was the Red Queen advancing, axe drawn, ready to end it all.  
  
* * *  
  
"Phong!" Mouse slammed open the door to Phong's office, storming in with a look of fury upon her face.  
  
Slowly, Phong's chair swiveled, and there he sat, glaring at her. "Welcome. I have been expecting you…er…'my child'…" Phong began to giggle insanely.  
  
"Phong…what in tarnation has gotten into y'all?"  
  
"A great deal has gotten into me, you meddling little insect. But that is none of your concern. Your only concern is how you plan to survive when I have finished with you."  
  
Mouse blinked. Was Phong really challenging her? It was almost unthinkable that this elderly, peaceful Sprite would attempt to attack a Sprite nearly twice his size, let alone one with a katana blade. But something was different about Phong….something about his eyes….  
  
As she watched, Phong began to change. His delicate, three-fingered arms became long, razor-sharp talons. His telescoping neck nearly disappeared, his head became larger and more streamlined,, and his spectacles began to flow like mercury, becoming a single scope lens over his right eye. And his box-shaped, mechanical body became something in the way of a tank. As this was happening, he grew….grew in size until he was nearly twice as large as Mouse.  
  
"Are you surprised, hacker?" the thing that was once Phong asked, in a voice not at all Phong's. "Don't be. Did you really  
  
think you and your pathetic friends could disrupt my plans and not go unpunished?" Phong's drawer, or what used to be his drawer, opened, and a large energy cannon emerged, aimed right for Mouse's head.  
  
"You were wrong."  
  
* * *  
  
Upon arriving in Mainframe, Dot and Matrix maximized their zipboards and took off as fast as they could towards the Diner…only to find it a smoldering ruin. Their next stop was the Principal Office….and standing just outside were Enzo , a Game Cube, and Mike the TV.  
  
"Enzo!" Matrix jumped down to the ground and nearly crushed his younger counterpart in a giant bear hug. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Oww! I was!" Matrix released him, and Enzo looked up into his older self's face. "But AndrAIa….she…."  
  
Matrix's face, exultant at finding Enzo still compiled, fell instantly. "No," he said quietly. When tears came to Enzo's eyes,  
  
he knew it was true.  
  
"NO!" he yelled, his voice echoing across the system.  
  
Just then, The outer wall of the P.O. exploded outwards, and Mouse's limp body came flying past. Luckily, Matrix happened to be standing right in her path.  
  
"Oof!" Matrix grunted as the force of the impact knocked him to the ground…but Mouse's fall was broken.  
  
"Matrix?…that you?" Mouse asked weakly. "Phong…he's…she's…back." Unable to say anymore, Mouse fell unconscious.  
  
"Back? Who's back?"  
  
"I am." Rumbling through the breach in the P.O.'s wall came the Mecha-Phong. It fired it's cannon one more time before  
  
retracting it, clipping Dot across her head, and knocking her to the floor. "What's the matter, my son? Do you not recognize  
  
me?"  
  
"Phong?"  
  
"Well, yes…and at the same time, a resounding no." Mecha-Phong unfolded it's arms, and it's razor-sharp talons began spinning.  
  
"That's not Phong," Enzo sad. "Maybe it was…but not anymore."  
  
"Give the kid a prize," Mecha-Phong said, slowly advancing on Matrix.  
  
The renegade drew his gun and fired, but the blasts ricocheted off of the tank's armor, leaving scorched marks on the ground.  
  
"Oh, you'll have to do better than that."  
  
As the talons grew nearer, a small pink object flew past Matrix's ear, striking the pivot where the claw connected to the tanks arm.  
  
"Arrgh!" Meccha-Phong screamed in pain as it's hand was severed. The golden claw fell to the ground…as did a small, pink starfish.  
  
"AndrAIa?" Matrix turned, and there was AndrAIa, standing right behind him, an extremely smug look on her face. "AndrAIa! You're alive!"  
  
"Of course." Seeing the relieved look on his face, she added, "What? You think one bomb's going to do me in? You know me better than that, Sparky."  
  
"I've told you a million times, don't ever call me thaAAAH!"  
  
Without warning, Matrix was lifted off his feet from behind.  
  
"Hello?" Meccha-Phong said. "Remember me? Our fight? Jeez, you DO have a one-track mind, don't you?"  
  
With that, Meccha-Phong threw Matrix with all it's strength, knocking down AndrAIa, and sending them both flying into the wall of the still shimmering Game Cube. Both collapsed, out for the count. The Tank began to advance on Enzo and Mike, but before it reached them, a loud voice rang throughout the system.  
  
"Game Over…."  
  
Suddenly, the Game Cube shot into the sky, leaving in it's place two very confused Viral Sprites.  
  
Jareth looked down at his body. "Hey…I can feel my toes again."  
  
"What's going on?" Electra asked. "Why weren't we deleted?"  
  
"Who cares? We won."  
  
"No, no, no. We lost. But we're still processing. But when the User wins, the game's supposed to…Ummm…"  
  
"I get it," Jareth said. "WE were playing as the Users, right?"  
  
Electra caught on quickly. "So in order to win, we had to lose. Spammit, if I'd known that, I'd have let that first ant skewer me."  
  
"Why, Lore…" Meccha-Phong turned from Enzo to face Jareth and Electra. "I was wondering when I'd get to see you. I believe I owe you one, as well….after all, you were instrumental in ruining my plans."  
  
"Mom?" Jareth asked. "That's a new look for you."  
  
"Yes, and I can't say I care for it much." Daemon examined her new body, almost daintily. "Even enhanced, it's such a  
  
ridiculous form."  
  
"Ditch it," Jareth suggested.  
  
"Hmmm…not a bad idea." Again, the Phong's drawer opened wide..but this time, instead of the cannon, Daemon appeared in her true form…that of a large, silver serpentlike dragon, rising into that air and hovering above Jareth and Electra. Once vacated, Phong's body shank, returning to it's normal shape….albeit minus a hand.  
  
"Now, then…I believe I was getting at something….ah, yes." Here Daemon simply picked Jareth up by the scruff of his neck, as though he were a kitten. "Lore. My oldest son. I hate to do this, I truly do…but you've left me no choice. You're grounded." With that, Daemon raised Jareth to her mouth and prepared to swallow him whole.  
  
"Oh, no you don't." Electra clutched Jet in her hand. Though it could change shape as well as any other Keytool, Jet's natural form was that of a double-handed short sword. Those who got on Electra's bad side often got Jet where they didn't want it. Electra leapt into the air, and Daemon screamed as Jet's diamond-hard edge sliced into her scales. Jareth was dropped flat on his ASCII.  
  
"You! Foolish little sprite! First, you corrupt my oldest son, then you steal my beautiful mask…now you actually CUT me?"  
  
"She…corrupted me?' Jareth asked, rubbing his neck.  
  
Daemon raised her claw, about to take a swipe at Electra, but was caught off guard from the side by a blast of energy.  
  
Turning to find the source, Daemon found Matrix, Gun in hand. "Don't you people ever die?" Daemon growled.  
  
Matrix didn't answer, but took careful aim….and fired.  
  
Daemon screamed and clutched at her left eye, thick purple blood running down the side of her scaly face. Despite her pain, Daemon spun around, catching Matrix across the face with her tail, breaking his half-healed jaw and knocking him, once more, onto the ground. "Arrgh! I have HAD IT with you people! You're like mosquitoes! Whenever I'm about to swat one, another turns around and stings me!" even as she spoke, her eye was healing; the viscous blood congealing, the surface of the eye becoming flawless once more.  
  
Jareth switched to a grin. 'Mosquitoes, huh?" he caught Electra's eye, and she grinned back at him. Unfurling his ebony wings, Jareth took to the air and began firing small, concentrated energy blasts at Daemon's hide. "Sting!"  
  
Electra followed suit, floating into the air and pelting Daemon with shards of ice. "Sting!"  
  
"Sting!"  
  
"Sting!"  
  
"Sting!"  
  
The two Virals continued their assault, flitting around Daemon and generally doing their best to bug her.  
  
Daemon roared, more in anger than actual pain. She tried to swipe at the irritating insects, but they were too fast. Daemon cocked her head to side, and began speaking in a much quieter, but still deadly, voice. "Perhaps it's time…I broke out the bug spray." Daemon closed her eyes and rose higher into the air, twisting her serpentine body until she was coiled into a large, writhering sphere. The sphere began glowing a bright, electric blue, and exuding an eerie cloud of indigo energy. Jareth shuddered as the radiation brushed against his wing tip. Glancing at the affected feathers, he was startled to note that they were translucent….they had been partially erased.  
  
"Electra! It's a magnetic field! Get away from her!"  
  
Electra wasted no time, but backed as far away from Daemon as she could. Looking down, she saw that Daemon's energy field was spreading…the P.O. wasn't affected, but several objects in the vicinity, such as signposts, were. With a shock, Electra noticed that Matrix was lying directly in the radiation's path.  
  
"Jareth! Get Matrix!"  
  
Jareth started to swoop, but hesitated. "Must I?"  
  
"Just do it!"  
  
Jareth sighed, but complied, diving down and transporting Matrix to safety.  
  
"Okay…now what?"  
  
Before Electra could answer, a hazy cloud of golden light began to form on the edges of Daemon's magnetic cloud, neutralizing it and forcing it back into Daemon's body. Daemon stopped gyrating and ground to halt, coughing up bluish-white sparks.  
  
"How many times do I have to delete you, Daemon?"  
  
Jareth, Electra, and Daemon turned, and there, standing at the beginning of the road that led to the P.O.'s main entrance, was  
  
Guardian Bob, resplendent in full Keytool armor.  
  
"Bob!…I believe I owe you, more so than anyone else here." Daemon said, glaring at the miniscule, silver-covered Guardian. "Why don't you and I finish this…right here, right now? Just the two of us."  
  
"Fine by me."  
  
* * *  
  
Jareth and Electra lighted on top of a nearby building, watching as Daemon approached Bob.  
  
"I wish Hex was here."  
  
"Why," Electra asked. "Do you think Bob'll need help?"  
  
"No," Jareth said. "But she'll be sorry she missed this."  
  
* * *  
  
"Glitch-Polymorph!" Bob's Chrome Glitch-Armor began to flow like mercury, until his entire body was undiscernable  
  
beneath the slivery mass. Slowly a shape began to emerge…that of a massive silver dragon….different from Daemon only it's bulk and in that it possessed wings.  
  
Daemon blinked. "When did you learn that, Guardian?"  
  
"Just a little something I've been tinkering with," Bob replied, in a deep, rumbling voice. "Shall we begin?"  
  
Daemon obliged, swinging her tail in a wide arc and catching Bob in the midsection. Bob skidded across the grassy yard that surrounded the Principal Office, finally grinding to a halt. Getting back to his feet, he opened his mouth and launched a ball of golden fire at Daemon. She countered with her own orb of emerald green flames, and the two fireballs collided with enough force to shatter every window for miles. Shaking off the force of the explosion, Bob took to the air and made a dive at Daemon, hoping to catch her off guard, but Daemon was quicker than he calculated and managed to blindside him with another fireball before he could score the hit. Out of control, Bob crashed into the ground and skidded, plowing a rocky furrow into the ground and stopping just short of the ditch that surrounded the Principal Office.  
  
Daemon reared back, jaws wide open, charging another fireball, this one twice as large as the last.  
  
Bob's eyes narrowed, he spun, swinging his tail around, and knocked the sphere that hung suspended above the P.O. directly at Daemon.  
  
The ivory orb caught Daemon upside the head, knocking off her aim. It was too late for her not to fire…the energy ball she'd built shot off in a wide arc, destroying a nearby building.  
  
* * *  
  
Jareth an Electra fell over backwards as the building next to them collapsed, and the shock wave rolled over them. Flat on his back, Jareth gazed at the sky. "Zowee…."  
  
Electra shook her head, already on her feet. "Glad we weren't standing on that one." Electra helped Jareth back to his feet.  
  
"Wish I were taping this," Jareth said. "Hex is going to HATE me."  
  
* * *  
  
Bob was rapidly getting tired. He wasn't used to this, he hadn't even been sure his Polymorph command was going to work. His energy reserves weren't transfinite as Daemon's were, he was rapidly running out of power. Yet his energy blasts were powerful…he felt certain that if he could just get in one clean shot, he'd be able to finish her off…but she was just too fast. But he had to try. Spreading his wings, Bob rose once more into the air, calling upon the last of his energy. Daemon, too, was winded, but she wasn't about to let that stop her. She was trying not to show it, but she was concerned….This Guardian had already toppled her entire empire, something she wouldn't have previously thought him capable of. This was, truly, her last chance…if she could defeat him, then there would be nothing to stop her from retaking the Guardian Collective…if she failed, she'd be deleted, Game Over.  
  
Of course, if she didn't do anything, then she might as well just let him have her.  
  
Daemon swooped down towards Bob, her snakelike form swimming through the air as a fish does water. Opening her jaws, she revealed row after row of razor-edged teeth. The two dragons collided, their forms frozen in midair as their powers were matched…but in the end, the Viral side prevailed, Daemon's teeth latched onto Bob's neck, his blood shed onto the ground below. Bob's leathery hide struck the ground as daemon forced him down, grinding him into the dust. Daemon bit down harder, hoping to snap the Guardian's vertebrae, to end his file existence once and for all…but then, a thought struck her. This Guardian had power. More power than any other. If she could only access that power… Bob struggle, trying to free himself, intensely aware of the dozens of biting teeth lodged in his skin. As he fought, Daemon's body began to glow her trademark electric blue, and for a moment he feared she would try to create another magnetic field…he didn't think he had the energy left to contain it. But wait…something was happening…it was as though her skin was merging with his…he could feel the edges of her filthy mind encroaching on his own. She wasn't trying to destroy him, he realized. She was trying to infect him! She was trying to enter his body, just as she had done to Sierra Sever, just as she had done to Phong.  
  
Once the shock of this realization had passed, he renewed his struggles. But it was too late; she had taken too firm a hold. A few more moments, and it would all be over.  
  
* * *  
  
Suddenly, a blast of energy swept through them both. The mercury-like substance covering Bob seemed to dissipate; his dragon form was obliterated, leaving him floating in his silver Glitch-Armor. However, while Bob was not actually harmed by the force of the blast, it seemed to cut through Daemon like a winter gale. She was tossed, thrown away from the Guardian and tossed like a leaf in the wind.  
  
"No!" Daemon screamed, her shrill voice echoing throughout the system. I was so close! Who? Who dares to try to stop me?"  
  
Daemon turned midair, her eyes widening as they fell upon the source of the attack. "You," she whispered.  
  
"Me, mother," Hexadecimal said, a fierce look in her fiery eyes. "I dare."  
  
* * *  
  
From Hexadecimal's hands extended a thin ribbon of energy that caught Daemon around her leviathan neck, winding and entwining her.  
  
Daemon laughed. "You think this…this puny strand of energy will stop me?! I created you! I created you, and I can destroy you as easily! Daemon opened her jaws and charged another emerald green fireball, launching it at Hexadecimal, but as it neared her, it slowed, came to a complete stop, caught up in Bob's power as he drew the energy in, absorbed it, added it to his own.  
  
Daemon reared, aiming her formidable jaws at the Guardian. "If I can't take you," she said, "then I shall simply destroy you!"  
  
Daemon began to lunge, to snatch the relatively unprotected Guardian from the air, to chew him up and swallow him whole, but she was stopped….balked…restrained by two more ropy tendrils of energy that appeared from nowhere, coiling around her neck, holding her fast.  
  
Daemon roared in fury, twisting her head this way and that, unable to escape…for al her power, she was stuck fast. Then her eyes fell on the source of these new restraints….her own son, and that foolish girlfriend of his…  
  
"Bob, hit her, now!" Electra urged. "I don't know how much longer we can hold her!"  
  
Bob's eyelids fluttered closed, as he drew upon all the energy he had remaining. Combining his power with that which he had absorbed from daemon herself, Bob created a large energy orb, larger and more concentrated than any he had ever formed. Once it was fully formed, Bob released it. The orb elongated, becoming a single, concentrated beam of iridescent light that caught Daemon directly in the head…and slowly, horribly, it disintegrated. The three hovering Virals released their hold.  
  
For a moment, Daemon simply floated there. Then, as the last of her toxicenergies faded, she collapsed, falling to the ground. The silver body pixelized as it fell, slowly shrinking, fading, until finally, it reached the ground…and there was nothing left.  
  
* * *  
  
Bob's energy was so low, he couldn't even return to the ground on his own…he had to be caught by Hexadecimal and gently lowered to the ground. Once there, he found he had to be supported by Electra to keep from falling over.  
  
Dot, Mouse and Matrix, it seemed, were fine. A few scratches, nothing that time wouldn't cure. Mainframe, too, could be  
  
salvaged…the Diner would have to rebuilt, and the Matrix family would have to find somewhere else to stay for a few days until  
  
their own house could be rebuilt.  
  
Bob himself would need to spend several days in the charger…he was still unused to his keytool powers, and he'd been pushing their limits far too often lately. But now, with daemon finally gone, he'd finally get the chance to rest.  
  
Phong, once he'd regained consciousness and been treated to a nice, hot cup of cocoa, seemed fine as well. His missing hand could easily be replaced. He and Dot almost immediately rushed back into the Principal Office to determine the extent of the damage to the System, and Matrix had to have his broken jaw set…again.  
  
The rest volunteered to escort Bob back home….after all, someone had to be there to catch him if he happened to fall over again.  
  
As they were walking back, something in Mike's hand caught Electra's attention: a small, handheld video recorder.  
  
"Mike!" Electra said, causing the small appliance to jump nervously. "Don't tell me you taped all that!"  
  
"Are you kidding?' Mike asked incredulous. "The final destruction of the most devastating Virus the Net has ever seen? Think of the ratings!" 


	8. The Return of the Codemaster

Chapter 7: The Return of the Codemaster  
  
"Okay, bring it down."  
  
At Dot Matrix's command, the binome at the controls pushed a lever forward. The long mechanical arm of the crane descended, lowering the large, stylized letter 'D' into place. Dot sighed. This was getting a little too familiar. This wasn't the first time the diner had needed to be rebuilt; it was the fourth. Twice the place had been offlined by Megabyte, and then there had been the Web's invasion. Now this: Sabotage by Daemon, in an effort to delete little Enzo at the behest of Megabyte  
  
himself.  
  
On a recent visit to Mainframe, Chu, the previous owner of the Diner, had stated that 'she couldn't believe she'd sold the place to someone so irresponsible'. Dot had reeled at her words. She'd resolved to keep the place standing this time…..and reconstruction was finally finished.  
  
"That's it," she told the construction crew. "We're done."  
  
As the binome work force departed, Dot removed her organizer from her belt and dialed in a sequence of keys.  
  
" 'Ello? Oh, Madame!"  
  
"Hi, Cecil," Dot replied. Though he seemed to be little more than a television set with arms, the dedicated server had somehow managed to survive every calamity that had befallen the Diner. This latest time, however, he'd suffered a bit more than usual. At first, he'd appeared relatively undamaged, but it soon became clear that this was not the case when cracks began appearing on his  
  
screen.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"I am feeling better zan ever! And I am ready to return to work at once!"  
  
"Don't be ridiculous!" Phong suddenly rolled into view. "Dot, my child. Good to hear from you. I'm afraid Cecil will require at least six seconds in bed before he will be fit to return to work."  
  
"Zix zeconds? Are you mad?"  
  
"Six seconds! Doctor's orders!"  
  
"But Madame cannot run ze dener for zat long wizout me!"  
  
"It's okay, Cecil. I'll manage. I'll just have to hire someone else until you're better."  
  
"Hire someone else!" Cecil yelled indignantly.  
  
" That's right. And until you're better, they'll be doing your job, and probably serving the wrong drinks to the wrong customers, breaking dishes, and smudging the windows."  
  
"Madame!"  
  
"So you'd better get some rest, and work on getting well, so you can get back to work that much faster. Bye!" Dot broke the connection, hooked the organizer back onto her belt, and stood with her hands on her hips. "Now, who'd be willing to work for what I pay Cecil?"  
  
* * *  
  
Electra stood off to the side, watching as the three Viruses converged. Wearing his typical arrogant smirk, Megabyte approached the center of the dias.  
  
His cobalt blue skin glinted eerily in the ghostly light. He clenched his hands into fists, and six golden, mechanical claws popped free of their housings with a SNIKT. From his left, Hexadecimal took a step forward, her ivory mask displaying her most sinister face. Her claws were extended, as though she meant to tear the other two apart. To Megabyte's right stood Lore, the golden triangle  
  
pendant around his neck glowing with an unearthly light. His mask, like Hexadecimal's, was menacing, his long fangs bared. Though there was no wind, his wild, untamed black hair moved as though it had a life of it's own. The three approached each other, as though they meant to fight. But before they could, A Sprite appeared, facing Lore. He wore the body armor of a Guardian, dyed black, with golden bracers. On his left arm rested a Keytool, it's circular screen glinting a shocking emerald green. As Megabyte and Hexadecimal watched, The Guardian began forcing Lore back, pushing with all his might, trying to keep him as far from the center as he could. Lore was stronger. Hard as the Guardian tried, he couldn't overpower the psychotic Virus. He was forced back towards the center. Upon seeing the triumph of their brother, Megabyte and Hexadecimal moved again to the center of the platform.  
  
Glancing over Lore's shoulder, the Guardian caught Electra's eyes. Just as he was pushed into the convergence, he mouthed a single word.  
  
"Help."  
  
The three Viruses joined, sparks and tendrils of violet light circled them. The light enveloped them and began to take form, growing taller, more slender, fading from a brilliant white-purple to metallic silver. In moments, there stood in the center of the dias a long, silver, snakelike serpent. The serpent leered down at Electra and opened it's jaws, and there-in it's mouth-stood the Guardian, trying to hold apart the fearsome teeth. As the serpent's lips curled upward in a sinister sneer, it brought down its fangs with a sickening crunch.  
  
* * *  
  
Electra awoke, drenched in a cold sweat. Her turquoise-black hair was matted and tangled, and she couldn't stop shaking. As she brought one of her hands up to her head to brush some of the errant hair from her eyes, a sharp shredding noise told her that she'd had her claws extended. So much for the sheets. Taking a deep breath, the Viral Sprite retracted her fingernails. She'd had  
  
nightmares before, but none of them had ever seemed so…real. "C'mon. Get a grip, Electra. It was only a dream."  
  
But she still couldn't stop shaking. She shot a quick glance at the chronometer; it was only 0500. But no way she'd be able to get back to sleep.  
  
Rubbing her eyes, she threw the covers aside. If she couldn't get any more downtime, then she might as well get out of bed. After taking another deep breath, she headed for the shower.  
  
* * *  
  
With a resounding Clang, Mouse's katana clashed against Jareth's. The two stood still for a moment, sizing each other up, then broke apart and began to battle in earnest.  
  
The other sprites gathered in Dot's Diner watched as Mouse quickly disarmed Jareth and stood with the tip of her katana pressed to his neck.  
  
"I win again, sugah." Mouse sheathed her sword.  
  
Jareth switched to a chagrined face, then retrieved his sword. With a beep, Shark returned to his usual form and reattached himself to Jareth's left bracer, sliding up underneath the sleeve of his coat. Once in place, the small Keytool fell silent.  
  
"Next time, it won't be so easy," Jareth warned.  
  
From her seat at the bar, AndrAIa clapped loudly. "Nice going, Mouse."  
  
"Yeah," Enzo said seated lazily on the countertop. "That was awesome. You have to teach me that! It was so cool, you totally wiped the floor with him!"  
  
Jareth switched to his ferocious 'Vamp' mask and snarled at Enzo, fingertip-claws extended. With a yelp, Enzo fell over backwards off the bar, and would have probably cracked his skull on the tile floor if Matrix hadn't caught him.  
  
"Knock it off," Matrix growled, unamused, as Jareth calmly sat down at the nearest booth. "We're not here to play around. We're here because Dot wants to talk to us."  
  
"You are," Jareth said. "I wasn't invited."  
  
"Okay, people. Listen up," Dot said, emerging from the kitchen and into the main part of the diner. "I need to ask a favor of one of you."  
  
"What's up, Dot?" Bob asked, running his hand through his unruly mop of silvery hair.  
  
"Cecil's taking a….sabbatical from work for a while."  
  
"Him? Take a vacation?" Matrix asked, incredulous.  
  
Dot smiled grimly. "Yeah. So I need someone to take his place."  
  
"Sorry," Bob said. "Being the System's Guardian's pretty much a full-time job."  
  
"Oh, Come on, Bob," Matrix said. "Now that Daemon's gone, what do you have to worry about?"  
  
"There's more to being a Guardian that just fighting Viruses," Bob defended himself. "I've got tears to mend, games to win-"  
  
"I can handle the Games. And there hasn't been a tear in Mainframe since-"  
  
"So why don't YOU take the job, Sugah?" Mouse asked with a grin, cutting him off. The thought of Matrix putting on a fake smile and greeting customers was laughable.  
  
"Actually, I think Matrix might scare the customers away," Dot said. "I was actually thinking of someone a little less….frightening." Dot's gaze wandered over to AndrAIa.  
  
"I'd be happy to help you out, Dot, but I don't think I could handle it all on my own."  
  
"Whoops!" Just then, Enzo, who'd been struggling to get back onto the counter, knocked over an empty glass that had recently held his drink. The container fell off the countertop, and plummeted to the floor….but, miraculously, stopped nearly a foot and a half from the tiles. Hovering with no regard for the law of gravity, the glass levitated back onto the countertop and came to a rest. The sprites in the diner watched with considerable interest. Dot looked around for the cause…and her eyes came to rest on Jareth, his hand extended towards the glass.  
  
"Jareth? Did you do that?"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Save that glass from hitting the ground."  
  
"Oh, that. Yeah. Why?"  
  
Dot considered for a moment. "I'm going to regret this," she muttered. "Jareth?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Would you like a job?"  
  
Every jaw in the Diner hit the ground.  
  
* * *  
  
"That'll be 12.95, please." AndrAIa typed the appropriate keys on the register, as the customer, a zero binome wearing a strage hat, swiped his credcard through the slot. "Thank you for eating at Dot's. Please come again." AndrAIa walked back into the kitchen to pick up the food order for the table by the window.  
  
There stood Jareth, calmly filing his nails.  
  
"Jareth! You're supposed to be working! Dot's not paying you to stand around."  
  
"I AM working," Jareth said, gesturing towards the sink.  
  
AndrAIa turned, and had to do a quick double-take. As she watched, the dirty dishes rose up out of the pile, scrubbed themselves clean, rinsed off, and deposited themselves in the dish rack, all seemingly under their own power.  
  
"Oh," AndrAIa said. "Umm…you want to wait the tables, too? "  
  
"No, thanks," Jareth said. He held his hand at arm's length and examined his pinky. "I'm busy."  
  
* * *  
  
"And how long have you been having these dreams?" Phong asked.  
  
"Just the once," Electra replied.  
  
Phong considered the unique sprite reclining on his couch. Since her mishap in the Supercomputer, Electra had become more Viral than ever. Her usual outfit was gone, replaced by an aquamarine gown that moved around her constantly, as though she were underwater. Her hair still looked black if viewed from the correct angle, but from another it was a deep turquoise. But the greatest change was her face. The skin there was no longer a deep green, but bright, metallic gold.  
  
It wasn't a mask like Jareth's, but rather a face, similar to the one Bob had given to Hexadecimal.  
  
"What do you thin it means?" Electra asked, sitting up and turning to face him.  
  
"It is…difficult to say. If it has only been the once, why did you think it necessary to some and see me?"  
  
"It was just…so real. Like I was really there. I could see it like I was actually standing there. When the three…four of them merged, I could feel the heat from the flash."  
  
"And you feel this was…a premonition?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm not sure. That's why I'm here."  
  
"I see." Phong rolled back to his place behind his desk. "My child, I think perhaps it merely stress. You have been through a great deal recently."  
  
"Well, yes…but…what if it's something to do with what happened to me? The mask?"  
  
"I have run a full compile on you. While I still do not fully understand what has happened, I am certain that there should be no such side effects."  
  
Electra slumped back down on the couch.  
  
"You will be fine, Electra. Go and get some rest. If you have this dream again, or one like it, then come and see me."  
  
"Okay. I will. Thanks, Phong."  
  
Electra arose from the couch…literally. Setting her feet back on the floor, she walked over, gave Phong a hug, and left the room. Phong sighed. His gaze wandered over to a picture on his desk, one of himself, Electra, Kit, Backslash, Dot, Enzo, and Jareth…the old gang, all smiling  
  
happily for the camera. Except for Jareth, of course…he had been dragged into the shot, and his expression showed it.  
  
"Ah…the good old days."  
  
Suddenly, the security alarms came to life. Startled, Phong slapped his three-fingered hand down on the button that would deactivate them. Brining up a VidWindow, he quickly discerned the problem. "Oh, dear…"  
  
* * *  
  
Matrix flew down the streets of Mainframe on his Zipboard, closely followed by AndrAIa.  
  
"Sparky, I don't get it," AndrAIa called as the two sped across the System. "Why can't they get a lock on it?"  
  
"Phong said they've never seen this type of Virus before. We're just going to have to hunt it down. Phong's going to contact Bob as soon as he gets out of the Game, and he'll meet up with us. I just hope--" Just then, Matrix was nearly knocked off his board by a small, pink object that flew across his path. "What in the Net?"  
  
Screeching to a halt, Matrix turned and followed the furry projectile. It led he and AndrAIa on a merry chase, dodging cars and signposts, knocking overpedestrians, until they finally managed to corner it down an alley. Matrix advanced on the small, quivering object, his Gun drawn.  
  
"Calm down, Matrix," AndrAIa said. Then, to the unidentified object, "Who….or what…are you?"  
  
"Yousa…not hurt me?" The thing said in a high, squeaky voice. It uncurled slightly, so that it didn't quite resemble a furry pink basketball anymore.  
  
"No. We won't hurt you," AndrAIa said. "What's your name?"  
  
"Mesa name AOL," the thing said. It uncurled fully, blinking up at them with a pair of ludicrously big eyes. Uncurled, it resembled a round, fluffy pink bird, almost like an owl, and so cute it should have been made illegal.  
  
"Awww…he's so cute!" AndrAIa said.  
  
"I don't like it," Matrix grumbled. "Where'd it come from, anyway?"  
  
"Mesa lost. Chased by mean thing. Yousa help me?"  
  
"You see, Sparky? He…uhh….she…it's just lost." AndrAIa turned back to AOL. "You  
  
say a mean thing chased you?"  
  
AOL nodded.  
  
"That must be the Virus we're after," Matrix said. "You. What did it look like?"  
  
"Mean thing! Big! Scawy! Mesa scawed." AOL started to cower.  
  
Matrix sighed, holstering his Gun. "He's a big help."  
  
AndrAIa crouched down and held out her arm. "Come on, AOL. No one's going to hurt you now."  
  
The small fluffy bird squealed with delight and hopped up onto AndrAIa's shoulder. Grinning, the aquatic Game Sprite stroked it gently, causing it to purr contentedly.  
  
"No, AndrAIa," Matrix said. "You can't keep it."  
  
* * *  
  
"So…what is it?" Dot asked, peering at the cute, furry thing curled up in AndrAIa's arms.  
  
"Mesa Web Browser! Big help!" AOL replied eagerly.  
  
"A Web Browser? I've heard of them," Ray Tracer said, leaning across the booth to get a closer look. "They work with Search Engines. I've heard they can be a big help."  
  
"Big help! Mesa big help!"  
  
"Never seen one before, though," The Web Surfer continued. "I wonder if they're all this annoying."  
  
"How can THAT help with anything?" Matrix growled from the bar.  
  
"You know, Mate," Surfer said, considering, "I'm not really sure."  
  
"It doesn't matter. There's a Virus loose in the System, remember?" Dot looked pointedly at Matrix.  
  
"Don't look at me," he said defensively. "I wanted to keep looking. But AndrAIa insisted on showing everyone her new pet."  
  
"New pet?" Ray asked, looking curiously at AndrAIa.  
  
"Well….yeah. if that's okay, Dot?"  
  
Dot looked down again at AOL. "I don't see why not. But you'd better get going. I don't want any Viruses loose in Mainframe."  
  
"What about Hex? Jareth? Timesprite?" Ray asked, taking a sip of his shake.  
  
"My point exactly," Dot replied. "We've got too many as it is."  
  
"All right. We're going," Matrix said. He scowled down again at AOL. "Better leave that here. It'll just get in the way."  
  
"I'll take care of it!" Every head turned as Enzo entered the Diner. The small sprite had a knack for grasping entire conversations by hearing just the few words at the end.  
  
"Okay. Here you go," AndrAIa handed the small furball to Enzo, who took it eagerly. "Be careful with it," she added, as she and Matrix left the Diner. Enzo raised the Web Browser to eye level and immediately proceeded to engage it in a staring contest.  
  
"Cool."  
  
* * *  
  
Electra soared over Mainframe, rolling Phong's advice over in her mind. Could it really have been just a dream? It had seemed so real….more real, in fact, than reality had gotten lately. Looking down at the streets below, she suddenly wondered whether any of them could be looking up her dress.  
  
"Game over…."  
  
Suddenly, the great purple Game Cube that occupied the next sector over shot into the sky, disappearing with a bang.  
  
"Another win," Electra said. "Good for them." She turned, and was heading for home, when the Keytool on her left bracer beeped, trying to get her attention. Raising BuBBle, she clicked on her communicator.  
  
"Dot? What's up?"  
  
"Electra glad I caught you. Listen, there's a Virus loose in Mainframe."  
  
"Just one?"  
  
"A new one…we're not sure what class it is, or where it's hiding. We can't get a lock on it. I've got Matrix and AndrAIa out searching, but give me a ring if you find it first. Okay?"  
  
Electra shrugged. "Sure."  
  
"Great. I've got to call Bob…Talk to you later."  
  
"Bye." BuBBle's screen returned to normal size, and went blank. "Just what this System needs. Another Virus."  
  
BuBBle beeped again…this time as a warning.  
  
"Hmm? BuBBle-System Scan."  
  
BuBBle complied.  
  
"Unidentified Virus…yeah…and a portal?"  
  
BuBBle clicked, whirred, and beeped yet again.  
  
"An unauthorized portal. Never a good sign. Okay," Electra said. "So much for getting any rest."  
  
* * *  
  
Jareth spun the spatula in his hand, twirling it around in an impressive display of dexterity. Moving with remarkable speed, he deftly flipped a number of burgers onto their buns, added fries, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, and placed the completed meals onto the countertop.  
  
"That's very impressive, Jareth," AndrAIa said, picking up the orders. "but do you think you could get the food to me without splattering the walls with mustard?"  
  
"Erm…maybe."  
  
"Please try." AndrAIa walked away, taking to the food to the customers in the diner.  
  
"Please try," Jareth mimicked, moving back to the grill. He began to flip burgers again, but was momentarily distracted by the sudden appearance of a portal just above the counter.  
  
Out stepped a skinny Sprite that looked a great deal like an upright grasshopper. He carried in his hand a long, lethal-looking staff. His feet looked as though they were folded in half, and the knocked over a number of condiments as the portal closed behind him, leaving him standing atop the  
  
stainless steel counter.  
  
"Uh…hello," Jareth said, a displaying a puzzed mask.  
  
The sprite examined Jareth. "You are….Virus. No…you are…Guardian."  
  
"I'm both, actually. And you're-"  
  
"I am Lens. A Codemaster. I come from the Net."  
  
"You're-"  
  
"I am searching for a Virus. You…" Lens scowled. "You are not he. The Virus I seek is incredibly powerful. Already he is spreading throughout the net, taking systems over, consuming their memory, making them useless."  
  
"You-"  
  
"I have followed it, searched through Systems, cities, peoples... To this place. Mainframe. I have been here before."  
  
"You-"  
  
"Yes?" Lens looked at Jareth, as though daring him to speak.  
  
"You're standing in the ketchup."  
  
* * *  
  
"I'm actually glad you're here, Lens," Dot said, as the Codemaster wiped the ketchup from his scaly foot. "We haven't had any luck at all finding this Virus."  
  
The bell over the door rang as Electra entered the diner.  
  
"Hey, guys, I detected a portal-" She stopped short as she saw Lens. "Oh. It's you."  
  
"You know this guy?" Jareth asked.  
  
"You don't?" Electra asked.  
  
"I haven't had a chance to introduce them yet. Jareth, Lens has been here before. Last time, he was trying to find another Codemaster, one that had run away. He destroyed most of Mainframe looking for him, but in the end he let him go."  
  
"It is fortunate that the guild has never learned of that." Lens said.  
  
"And where was I?"  
  
"In the Lair with Hex, doing whatever it is that you two do all the time," Electra said.  
  
"Don't ask," Jareth said.  
  
The bell above the door rang again, signaling the entrance of Matrix and AndrAIa.  
  
"We're back," AndrAIa said, a defeated tone in her voice.  
  
"And no, we didn't find it. We searched the entire city, street by street,"  
  
"You did not have me to help find it," Lens said, standing.  
  
"What are YOU doing here?" Matrix asked, his eyes narrowed.  
  
"Here's here to help find the Virus."  
  
"Yeah? Get this," Bob said, walking into the Diner, causing the bell to ring yet again.  
  
"That bell is really starting to annoy me," Jareth said.  
  
"Kit's Sector is completely sealed off," Bob continued. "It's like there some sort of barrier surrounding it. Nothing can get in or out."  
  
"This is the Virus' work," Lens said, snarling, gripping his pike. "That is how it operates. First, it begins sealing off parts of the System. Soon, it will be impossible for anyone or anything to function. And finally, those trapped within the sealed-off sectors will begin to degrade, slowly, and very painfully."  
  
"What's this Virus called?" Dot asked.  
  
"We do not speak its name."  
  
"That's helpful," Electra said.  
  
"Enough," Dot said. "Bob, Matrix, AndrAIa, go with Lens and search the city again."  
  
"But we just got back," Matrix complained. "And do we have to go with HIM?"  
  
Dot gave him an icy glare.  
  
"All right," he said. "We're going."  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
"I sense nothing," Lens said.  
  
"Of course not," Matrix said. "I've already told you, we've searched the city, top to bottom."  
  
Bob let his eyes fall half closed, calling on his Glitch powers to scan the air around him. He rose slightly off the ground as he did so. "I can't sense anything, either."  
  
The small group was standing just outside the barrier that sealed off Kit's Sector. It was thin and filmy, translucent, almost white. Beyond it, they could see the very concrete of the streets dissolving, the signposts beginning to turn to dust. Within, Binomes crawled about the streets, acting as though they were suffocating. Sound could not penetrate the barrier, but it was obvious that  
  
they were screaming in agony. Their very skin was beginning to peel off, falling in clumps to the ground only to shrivel like burning tissue paper.  
  
"We've got to stop this, Bob," AndrAIa said.  
  
"The only way to end this destruction is by destroying the Virus," Lensreplied without feeling, examining the end of his pike.  
  
"But how can we do that if we can't even find it? Why CAN'T we find it?" Matrix asked.  
  
"I think we're dealing with some kind of Trojan Horse Virus. Something that can take the shape of anything it touches. I've read about them, and they're supposed to be undetectable to sensor scans," Bob replied.  
  
"The Virus we seek is no Trojan Horse," Lens said. "It is simply a Virus that masquerades as a harmless program. It-"  
  
"Could you please just tell us its name, already?" Matrix interrupted.  
  
"I told you, we do not speak its name." Lens snapped. "It is against tradition to invoke the name of such a monster."  
  
"How bad can one Virus be? After Daemon-"  
  
"This Virus has wreaked havoc on countless Systems! If you thought the damage done by Daemon was bad, it is nothing compared to the atrocities committed-"  
  
"Alright, alright." Matrix sighed. "Then could you at least tell us what it looks like?"  
  
"Very well," Lens agreed. "It is very small, round, and covered with pink fur. Disgustingly cute creature."  
  
* * *  
  
"Sit up," Enzo said.  
  
AOL complied, squatting on his hind legs and raising his from paws into the air. He seemed to be enjoying this game as much as Enzo. Mouse watched from the couch as the two played on the rug of her living room. Since AndrAIa and Matrix's house had been destroyed, the two were bunking with her…at least until their own house could be rebuilt. Enzo was part of the package, the couple had adopted him as a sort of younger brother/son. This was fine, it kept him out of Dot's hair, and gave Enzo someone to play with, namely, AndrAIa. Now it looked as if he'd found another new friend.  
  
Frisket lay curled up in the corner, growling softly. He hadn't taken too kindly to being 'replaced' by a ball of pink fluff, but that hadn't stopped Enzo from admonishing him for trying to eat it. That really hadn't been fair. Frisket hadn't wanted to eat it, all that fur would have given him indigestion. He'd only wanted to chew it up into little pieces and listen to the noises it would have made. But instead, he had to be content with the fact that it wasn't doing all the tricks properly.  
  
"Okay, roll over."  
  
AOL jumped about a foot into the air a performed a somersault.  
  
"No, no, no. That's not how you do it," Enzo said. "Hey, Frisket, come over here. Show AOL how to roll over."  
  
"Me sure mesa got it right," AOL complained.  
  
Frisket growled.  
  
"Oh, come on., Enzo begged. Suddenly, he grinned. "Or can't you do it, either? I don't believe it. My own dog can't even roll over. Even Scuzzy can do that."  
  
Ouch. Frisket shot Enzo a glare, then quickly rolled over once, just to show that he could. He then continued growling quietly at AOL, who was careful to keep his distance.  
  
"There you go," Enzo said. "Now you try."  
  
"Me not sure mesa can," AOL replied. Then he shrugged, an impressive achievement for one with no shoulders. "Oh, well. Maybe mesa try anyway." The small, fuzzy owl flopped onto it's back, and proceeded to try to roll over. It didn't get very far.  
  
"Hmm…maybe we need to work at this a little."  
  
Just then the front door slammed open.  
  
"Enzo!"  
  
"AndrAIa?" Enzo propped himself up on one elbow to look at AndrAIa as she ran into the house. She looked very worried.  
  
"Are you okay? Did it hurt you?"  
  
"Did what hurt me?"  
  
"Get away from AOL," Matrix said firmly, walking in behind AndrAIa, Gun drawn. "That thing's a Virus. The one we've been looking for."  
  
Jareth and Dot walked in behind Matrix, followed closely by Lens.  
  
"AOL? A Virus? Don't be ridiculous." Enzo turned to the ball of fluff, which was still trying to roll over. "You're not a Virus, are you?"  
  
"Of course mesa Virus," AOL replied.  
  
Enzo was shocked. "What?"  
  
"I said, 'Of course mesa Virus.'"  
  
"But…but I thought you said you were a Web Browser!"  
  
"Mesa both."  
  
"How can you possibly be both?" Enzo asked, incredulous.  
  
"Makes perfect sense to me," Jareth interjected.  
  
"You lied to me!" Enzo cried, jumping to his feet. "I thought you were my friend!"  
  
"Mesa never lie. Mesa never say, 'AOL not Virus,'" The furball replied, finally flopping back onto it's feet. It gazed up at Enzo with its ridiculously big, adorable eyes.  
  
"You said you were running from the Virus," AndrAIa remembered.  
  
"Mesa never say that. Me said mesa was running from big mean thing." AOL now caught sight of Lens for the first time. "Eep! You brought Big Mean Thing right to mesa! Mesa run away!"  
  
AOL rose into the air, curled into an even rounder ball, and went flying out the window as though thrown from a catapult, shattering the glass to smitherines.  
  
"After it!" Lens cried. "We cannot let it escape!" the Codemaster then vanished into a portal of his own creating.  
  
Everyone else used the door.  
  
* * *  
  
After a long chase, Lens cornered the adorable Virus down a dead end street. The Virus cowered against the wall as the Codemaster approached, Gibson Coil Pike held at the ready.  
  
"Are you prepared for your deletion, Virus?"  
  
"If mesa say no, you go away?" the furball asked hopefully.  
  
"I'm afraid not," Lens said. You have led me on a fine chase, AOL," he said, finally calling the Virus by name. "But the chase is over." Lens lowered his pike.  
  
"No!"  
  
The pike, affected by some unseen force, flew from Lens' hand and struck the nearest wall, falling to the ground with a loud clatter. Lens himself followed, but stayed pinned against the wall. AOL rose from the ground, hovering at eye-level. He opened his beak, revealing for the first time no less than three rows of razor-sharp teeth, and his eyes began to glow a deep scarlet. "Yousa not hurt me! Mesa mad now! Make you go away!"  
  
"Erg…you…cannot…win, Virus!"  
  
"Mesa win! Mesa get rid of you, Big Mean Thing!"  
  
Lens struggled against the invible force that held him, but his efforts were futile.  
  
"You go away now." AOL said. "Bye-bye."  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
AOL turned, just as Bob's energy blast caught him right across the beak, knocking him against the wall.   
  
Lens slid to the ground. "Guardian! He must be destroyed! Now!"  
  
Bob raised his hands to fire again, but quickly found himself cut off from the Virus by a paper-thin, filmy wall of energy. Bob banged against the wall, but not even the sound of his fists could get through. He looked around frantically, but the wall had completely encased him, forming an impregnable prism that held him in place. It was getting hotter. Bob found it harder to breathe, and he realized that only his Guardian code was preventing his skin from cracking and peeling. But even with that protection, it was only a matter of time before….  
  
"Bob! Lens!" AndrAIa's voice rang out. Bob turned to look, and there, standing in the entrance to the alley, was the Game Sprite, along with Matrix, Jareth, and Electra.  
  
Matrix leveled his Gun at AOL. "Gun, Command Line-Full Delete!" Squeezing the trigger, Matrix fired off a single shot…but as the bullet neared AOL, it slowed, as though it had been fired through a sea of molasses. The very air around it rippled as it came to a stop inches from the pink, fluffy Virus' beak…and fell to the ground.  
  
AndrAIa leaped into the air, extending her trident as she did so, but before she could connect, she found the weapon ripped from her hand, and was slammed hard against the wall. Lens followed, as did Matrix, his Gun dropping to the floor. The force released them, and they slid to the ground. Before they could rise, however, they found themselves pinned, encased, smothered by a filmy layer of paper-thin energy.  
  
"Is it our turn yet?" Jareth asked, turning to Electra.  
  
"Yep," Electra rose into the air, and brought her hands together, forming a large ball of ice. Thrusting her hands forward, she launched the ball at AOL. As it struck the Virus, it expanded, encasing him, freezing him.  
  
Jareth raised his arms, and fired twin beams of golden sparks from his hands. The blasts were meant to connect, and shatter the frozen ball of fluff into innumerable fragments, but instead the beams bent, warping around AOL's frozen form, as though they'd been refracted. Suddenly, the ice shattered, and AOL emerged much angrier than he had been. Like the others, Jareth and Electra were thrust against the wall.  
  
"Oww!" Jareth tried to free himself, but this Virus was to strong even for him, stronger than even Daemon had been. All of the windows in the alley suddenly shattered, raining the sidewalk with slivers of broken glass. These long shards hovered into the air, turning their sharp points to face the helpless pair, like so many lethal arrows.  
  
"Yousa say you were AOL's friend. But now Yousa attack him! Yousa no friend."  
  
"Hey, I never claimed to be your friend," Electra said.  
  
"Me, either," Jareth added.  
  
"Mesa no care! Yousa bad peoples! Mesa finish you!" The shards of glass shivered, preparing to launch themselves…But then a streak of red and gold flew past, knocking the small pink bird from the air. The glass arrows fell to the pavement and shattered, and the suffocating envolopes that held the other sprites faded. Pieces of pink fluff flew everywhere.  
  
* * *  
  
"Good boy, Frisket," Enzo said, scratching the faithful dog behind the ears.  
  
"Yes, indeed," Lens said. "Thank you…er… Frisket," he added, stumbling over the concept of talking to a dog. "It is not often that a Codemaster's life is saved by a dog." Lens brought his pike around and aimed it at Frisket's collar. A stream of emerald green light poured from the tip, and in an instant, the dog's Icon had been transformed. No longer the black-and-gold Icon of a Guardian,  
  
the Icon was now blue, and seemed to glow from within. Strange, wavelike patterns seemed to swim psuedoinches beneath its surface.  
  
"What did you do?" Enzo asked in amazement. Frisket looked rather anxious to know, himself.  
  
"A gift, worthy beast," Lens said. He waved his pike again, and a portal appeared on the other side of the Diner. "Use it wisely." With that, the Codemaster strode across the room, stepped into the portal, and was gone.  
  
"Wow," Enzo said.  
  
The bell above the diner's door rang, and was instantly blasted off of the doorframe by Jareth.  
  
"Err…have I come at a bad time?"  
  
"Not at all, Phong," Dot reassured him. "What brings you here?"  
  
"I am glad I was able to catch you all together in one place," Phong said, rolling into the room. "I have an announcement to make. As you all know, many things have happened in the last few minutes. Viral attacks, wars, the loss of loved ones, the transformation of others…it has all been too much."  
  
As he spoke, Phong turned to face each of the sprites in turn.  
  
"In light of the last battle with Daemon…" here Phong looked at his three-fingered hand. Unlike the rest of his body, it shone a bright silver, having recently been replaced. "I have decided…I am simply getting to old for this. Some rest would be most welcome."  
  
"Phong…what are you trying to say?" Electra asked.  
  
Phong looked her squarely in the eyes. "I am leaving, my child," he said. "The time has come for me…to retire." 


	9. Neogenesis

Author's note: Once again, a big thank you to Electra, without whom this chapter would have been a lot shorter. :P  
  
Chapter Eight: Neogenesis  
  
Electra sat in a booth of the Dot's Diner, staring blankly into space. Her mind dwelled on her dreams, the ones she'd been having ever since Daemon fell. They always went the same way..Hexadecimal, Megabyte, and Jareth.no, not Jareth. Lore. The three of them, walking towards each other, like they were going to fight.and then Daemon would appear. She was continually wondering what the dreams meant, but now, with Phong gone, she had no one left she wanted to discuss them with. Jareth and Hexadecimal were out of the question. They'd either get freaked about it happening, ignore it completely, or decide that perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea after all.  
  
And nobody else would understand. They'd assume that, because she was viral, she'd want it to happen. That she'd want the dreams to come true.  
  
Electra laughed hollowly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Watching Daemon return was not something she was looking forward to. She wondered if she could bother Phong about it again. After all, he was only a VidWindow away. But no.he'd retired because he'd needed the rest, if she called him up just to discuss her problems, that would defeat the purpose altogether. Phong..He'd only been gone for a cycle and already she missed him.  
  
"Hey! Watch what're doing!" Matrix yelled, a couple of tables away. She didn't know to whom he was referring, and at the present, she was too lost in thought to care.  
  
"Uh. 'Lectra?" Electra turned her head at the mention of her name. Jareth was standing behind the counter, his elbows on the countertop, mask displaying an expression of amusement. "Mind not spilling your drink on the table?"  
  
Electra looked down at the table, which was already partly covered with her drink. She pick up her cup before the rest of it was spilled.  
  
"Whoops." She started to wipe up the Powershake's fluid with her sleeve. "Sorry."  
  
******  
  
Deep in the bowels of the Supercomputer's Principle Office, Diode yawned loudly. Leaning back in her chair, she closed her eyes and listened to the anguished, enraged cries of all the Viruses in their cells, awaiting deletion. She smiled; there was no sound better than that of Virals in pain.  
  
A pair of hand suddenly covered her eyes. Diode got up, spun around, and had her blaster pointed at her assailant before he could blink. The Sprite who surprised her quickly took a step back, his hands raised up in a gesture of surrender.  
  
Diode blinked. "Flash. You don't have clearance to be here. I should report you."  
  
Flash's face fell. "You wouldn't."  
  
"Oh, wouldn't I?"  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
Diode grinned. "Take off your pants."  
  
With blaster pointed at his head, Flash had little choice. He complied.  
  
"Happy?"  
  
"Not just yet." Diode gestured towards the rest of Flash's uniform. "Keep going."  
  
Before Flash could unzip any further, a voice called out from the nearest cell.  
  
"Oh, please, not this again." The occupant virus rose from his cot and stepped into the light. His black metal skin glinted in the light, and behind him waved four long tentacles. His deep, menacing voice echoed through the prison block, arousing a few neighboring Viruses briefly from their slumber.  
  
"If you two insist on playing these ridiculous games, at least have the decency to do so elsewhere." Megabyte sneered. "I have no desire to watch yet another Guardian 'mating ritual'."  
  
Diode hung her head. "Spammit." She looked up at Flash. "I was just getting' into that one, ya know?"  
  
Flash nodded.  
  
"C'mon." Diode grabbed Flash by the arm, and dragged him off in the direction of the nearest broom closet.  
  
Megabyte sighed, and shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I've learned more from those two than I ever wished to know." His eyes fell on Flash's pants, still lying on the floor...and the key ring attached to his belt.  
  
*******  
  
After Electra left the diner, (she seemed like she was walking in a daze, Jareth noticed) the rest of his shift went surprising quickly. After saying goodbye to Dot and Cecil (Dot had decided to keep him on after Cecil got back to work. Why, he couldn't imagine.), he unsheathed his wings and began the long flight back to Lost Angles. True, he could have simply teleported there in an instant, but after all, the only point in traveling from one place to another was to see what lay in between. You couldn't do that while teleporting.  
  
Mainframe looked very different from above. Lots of little glowing boxes. He wondered if he looked like a little glowing box to the people on the ground. Probably not. After all, the buildings were box-shaped, and he wasn't. Or was he? He didn't think so, but he wasn't sure. He couldn't see himself. Well. Maybe he'd check it out in one of Hex's looking glasses.  
  
Suddenly, Jareth's eyes began to glow, changing from their usual dark, emerald green to a brilliant white, and shining like halogen lamps.  
  
Jareth crumpled, folding his wings---not the smartest thing to do in midair.  
  
Fortunately, he happened to fall upon a rooftop, rather than the ground, which was much further away. He no longer saw the world around him, but rather something completely different. He saw Hexadecimal. But wait. She had her mask back! That was good; he'd always thought she looked better before Bob gave her that stupid face. She acted a lot cooler, too. And her outfit..it looked the way it did before Megabyte 'fixed' her after her incident with the Game Cube. She no longer had her seven swept-back, serpentlike projections from her head, but rather the bizarre, five-pointed crown that she'd worn for so long.  
  
"Hex? What's going on? Where are we?" Jareth looked around. "Isn't this the Supercomputer?"  
  
Hexadecimal unsheathed her claws, but as she did, Jareth heard another sound. A familiar, metal-on-metal scraping sound. He turned and there stood, of all people, Megabyte. He was different, too....he'd lost the black armor, and was back to his usual, stupid cobalt-blue. His claws were extended, and Jareth could see that they were whole and unbroken. His tentacles were missing, too. Wait...Megabyte did have tentacles, didn't he? No, he must not. After all, he didn't have them now.  
  
"Oh, hey, it's you. What are you doing here?"  
  
Megabyte didn't answer, but instead advanced as Hexadecimal did, as though he was about to rip him to shreds. Jareth didn't know why, but he guessed that it really didn't matter.  
  
"Shark--Scythe!"  
  
A moment passed, and nothing happened. Alarmed, Jareth glanced down at his bracer..and found that it wasn't there. He looked down at himself, and realized that he still had his leather trench coat, but he wasn't wearing his usual Guardian body armor underneath. Instead, he was draped in loose-fitting black clothing, and around his neck was a golden triangle on a chain. Reaching behind his head, he realized that his long hair was no longer tied back, but wild and unkempt.  
  
He was Lore.  
  
Laughing maniacally, Lore switched to a fearsome face and extended his own claws. The three virals advanced, and met in a blinding flash of purple light..  
  
The light in Jareth's eyes faded, and he was himself again. A black, green, and gold scythe hung in the air in front of him.Shark appeared to have followed his command, even in delirium.  
  
Jareth switched back to a neutral face, and returned Shark to his bracer.  
  
"Well," he said. "That was different."  
  
*******  
  
"Honey, I'm home!" Jareth cried, swooping through the window of the Lair. "Hex?" he asked, finding the place surprisingly dark. Oh, the lair was usually dark, but not this dark. The hovering, traffic light-shaped things that floated through the Lair were switched off.  
  
"Hex? You home?" Jareth wandered the halls, seeking out his sister. "Hexadecimal, if you're not home, say something." Receiving no answer, he added, "Okay, you must be home then. So where are you?"  
  
Still no answer. Finally, Jareth arrived at the throne room. This was usually the only place any visitors ever got to see, but Jareth always seemed not to get to it until last.  
  
Pinned to Hexadecimal's throne was a brief note. Jareth removed this and perused it thoroughly.  
  
"Hmmm. Hmm. Hmm. Uh-huh." Jareth stuffed the note into his pocket. "Nope," he said. "I still can't read."  
  
*******  
  
A crash outside Bob's apartment's window made Dot sit up from her reclining position on the couch immediately.  
  
"Did you hear something?" Dot looked at Bob, next to her on the sofa. He, being half-asleep, just murmured a no.  
  
"OH SLAGGING RECYCLING BIN!" followed by a lot more cursing, came from outside the window.  
  
"I heard that." Bob whined, before grabbing two pillows from the sofa to cover his ears. "Go see who it is."  
  
"Me? Why me? Why can't you go?"  
  
A snore told her why. "Fine." Dot stood and strode over to the window and flung it open. She almost laughed at what she saw.  
  
"Electra? What in the World Wide Web are you doing?" Electra was desperately trying to get her hair untangled from a tree she had passed by.  
  
"I'm...uh... Doing my hair?" Electra smiled innocently up at Dot.  
  
"Oh yes, and tangling it in my boyfriend's tree is the new best way to do that? Come on, even Hexadecimal has better excuses than that."  
  
"Speaking of the she-devil. She's missing." Electra sighed.  
  
"What? You lost Hexadecimal?"  
  
"No. She went walkies. And Jareth asked me to help look for her." Electra finally got free of the tree. "And I thought, knowing how much she likes Bob..."  
  
"That she'd be here?" Electra nodded. "I haven't seen her. Sorry. Are you sure she couldn't have gone home?"  
  
"I think Jareth's got Skuzzy on alert for her, and you'd think he'd tell me if he found her. So I'd guess a big no." Electra floated up to be eye-level with Dot. "I better go find Jareth and report back."  
  
"Well, if you need a hand, I'm always willing to help."  
  
"Thanks, Dot. But please. Don't call us. We'll call you. Go enjoy Bob's company." Electra swirled up and flew off in the direction of her apartment.  
  
"If you can call Bob's current company enjoyable." Dot grumbled as Bob snored louder.  
  
*******  
  
"Okay. I looked all around Bob's place. No Hex." Electra shrugged as she floated up. "I doubt she's inside. I still can't believe that this is all she wrote." Electra fished Hex's note from her pocket.  
  
"Dear Jareth,  
  
Gone somewhere. Back sometime.  
  
-Hexadecimal  
  
The girl's just a regular source code of information."  
  
"She knows I worry. Y'know, Bob's isn't the only place you might find her." Jareth said, sitting on the roof of Electra's apartment building, his dangling his legs over the side.  
  
Her reply was a skeptical look, as she floated over and down to sit next to Jareth.  
  
"She could be... Uh... The Principal office? Dot's Diner... Oh who am I kidding? Bob's is the only other place in Mainframe we'd find her, other than the Lair."  
  
"The only place in Mainframe." A thought occurred to Electra, and her hair stood on end.  
  
"Dude..." Jareth said. "How did you do that?"  
  
"Never mind," Electra snapped, smoothing down her hair. "Uh... J, What happens if she's not in Mainframe? I mean, we've checked all her usual haunts."  
  
"You're right. But where would she go? She's only ever been here and...." Jareth blinked. "Hex has gone to the Super Computer!"  
  
"What? When? How? Wait...why?"  
  
"Yes... Why. Good question. Why... Well, why not?"  
  
"Why not? That's the best reason you can think of?"  
  
"For just about anything. Besides, why does Hex ever do any of the things Hex does?"  
  
"Good point. Oh, just humor me here. Let's see, what's in the Supercomputer that would interest Hex?" Electra paused. "What even interests Hex?"  
  
"Bob."  
  
"Nope. He's here." She rested her chin on her knee and knotted her brow in concentration. "I've got it! I know what she is looking for!"  
  
"Daemon?"  
  
Electra gave Jareth a well-deserved hit upside the head. 'Ow!"  
  
"No, that was last cycle's fiasco. Bob deleted her, remember?"  
  
"Which reminds me, I've been meaning to buy that tape from Mike."  
  
There was a nano of silence.  
  
"Electra...? Still there?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me? I thought you decided to ignore my brilliant insight in favor of Mike's taping Daemon's deletion."  
  
"Sorry. What is this brilliant insight?"  
  
"Megabyte."  
  
Jareth didn't react.  
  
"Hello? Megabyte? Remember him? Your brother? Hex's brother?"  
  
"He's your brother too, Y'know." Jareth interjected.  
  
"Only distantly, and please, don't remind me."  
  
"And Dot's. Matrix's. Little Enzo's. Is there anyone is Mainframe I'm NOT related to?"  
  
"So Anywho, I'd say Megabyte's what she's after." Electra sighed. "Can't guess why, though."  
  
"Me neither. But it looks like we're going on a road trip." Jareth laid back on the rooftop, crossing his arms behind his head. "So, got any old rebels to call in the SC? Someone we can bunk with?"  
  
"Oh... one or two... " She smiled, knowing exactly who to call.  
  
******  
  
On the busy, bustling streets of the Supercomputer, a portal opened. It appeared so suddenly that several pedestrians had to jump out of the way to avoid being transported elsewhere. Two Sprites emerged, and the portal collapsed.  
  
One was dressed in a flowing blue-green dress. Her hair moved around her head as though it had a will of it's own, and it seemed to change color depending on the angle from which it was viewed. Her face seemed to be cast of solid gold.  
  
The other had skin of porcelain-white, and was draped in inky black clothing. His long, leathery coat flapped in the breeze left by the portal, and his ebony mask matched perfectly his long, flowing hair. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that these two were..  
  
"Viruses! Run!"  
  
Almost instantly, the streets cleared. The shops closed, doors locked, and alarms began blaring with all their might.  
  
Jareth clamped his hands over his ears, dropping to his knees. Electra glanced down at him, alarmed.  
  
"Jareth! Are you okay?" She asked, having to scream to be heard over the alarms. Jareth didn't answer; he apparently couldn't hear over the noise.  
  
As abruptly as it began, the alarms ceased. Jareth remained on the ground, curled into a fetal position. Electra looked up to see what had stopped the alarms..and saw that they were surrounded by a ring of Guardians, weapons drawn.  
  
"Oh, slag." Electra said.  
  
"Electra? Jareth?"  
  
Electra's eyes fell on the Lead Guardian. "Backslash? Backslash! Am I glad to see you. Listen, we're really, really, REALLY sorry about that whole leaving-you-in-the burning-building thing. Can you call these guys off? Please?"  
  
Backslash grinned. "Stand down, everybody. I know these two."  
  
"You're friends with these Viruses?" One of the Guardians asked, a tone of disgust in her voice.  
  
Backslash stared the Guardian down. "As a matter of fact, I am. These two helped bring down You-Know-Who. Do you have a problem with that?"  
  
"N-No, sir."  
  
"Good. Dismissed, all of you."  
  
Gradually, and with many curious looks back, the Guardians dispersed until only Backslash remained.  
  
"So, what brings you two here? And what's wrong with him?"  
  
"Hexadecimal's run off, and we think she might have come to visit Megabyte. As for Jareth..."  
  
Electra looked back down at the ground, where Jareth still lay twitching. "I'm really not sure. I think the alarms got to him."  
  
"Oh. Most Viruses have enhanced senses. They can't handle loud noise. The alarms are designed to take advantage of that. Funny, it didn't seem to bother you."  
  
"Will he be okay?"  
  
"He should be. Once his ears stop bleeding." Backslash did a double-take. "Wait. Red blood? RED? Ick."  
  
"I know, it's weird. Listen, Backslash, We're staying with some friends of mine, but we're not supposed to meet up with them until later. Do you know someplace we can go, where he can..I dunno..lay down or something?"  
  
Backslash nodded. "Sure," he said. "Follow me."  
  
*******  
  
Electra sat under Jareth, cleaning the blood off his face. He was hanging upside down, his head towards the floor, tangled up in Backslash's hammock.  
  
"I am never, ever going to do that again. That was gross," She said, upon completing the task.  
  
"How do you think I feel? I was the one bleeding." He tried to get loose of the hammock again, but only succeeded in tangling himself more.  
  
"Only you could get stuck in a Guardian hammock."  
  
"Well, I'm not the one who said, 'Lean over the side. I've got a message for you.' Say, what's the message?"  
  
"Oh. Kiren found Hex, and Kas is trying to find Megabyte."  
  
"What do you mean, 'trying'? Isn't Meggy in a cell?"  
  
Electra stood up and started getting Jareth untangled from the hammock. "Well... uh... He stole Guardian Flash's keys."  
  
"And probably his pants too, if I remember Flash correctly." Electra ripped the hammock, and Jareth fell to the ground.  
  
"OW!"  
  
"How the Recycling Bin did you remember Flash and his missing pants? You can't even remember the names of my Keytools."  
  
Jareth stood up, dusting himself off. "Well, I've never had to share a room with you or your Keytools. Flash was my roommate at the academy."  
  
"Believe me, I'm beginning to be glad that I've never shared a room with you." Electra turned away, blushing more than she had ever done in her whole life, pretending that she was fixing the hammock.  
  
"What do you mean 'beginning to'?"  
  
"Did I say beginning? Oh... Whoops. Slip of the tongue. So, just what's so memorable about this Flash guy?"  
  
"Well, he used to have this girlfriend named Diode. Cute girl. They liked to play... games." Jareth giggled. "They never realized that I was awake."  
  
Electra blinked, but didn't have time to respond before Backslash entered the room.  
  
"Oh. You're both still here. I would have thought you two would have deleted each other by now. HEY! What happened to my bed?"  
  
Jareth and Electra immediately began explaining about the hammock at the same time. Backslash couldn't make out a word.  
  
"Oh Forget it. I'll just have to sit on Kit's bunk."  
  
"Kit's bunk is here?" Electra laughed, and Backslash shot her a glare that would cut glass. "I knew she'd moved back to the Supercomputer, but Backie, Backie, Backie, why ever didn't you tell us that she'd moved into your quarters?"  
  
"Because I was hoping to avoid this very conversation," Backslash said crossly.  
  
Suddenly, Diode burst into the room.  
  
"Backslash, sir! Megabyte has..."  
  
"Escaped? Yeah, we know." Electra said. Backslash looked at her and shook his head in disbelief.  
  
"How did you...? You are... Sir. This Virus must have helped him escape. No one else has been told." Diode said.  
  
"Oh, really? Then where are Flash's pants?" Jareth asked, switching to an evil grin.  
  
Diode gasped, then blushed furiously, managing to turn from milk-white to scarlet. "How...?"  
  
"Don't worry about these two, they'll forget everything before they have a chance to tell anyone," Backslash said, smiling though it was a grim situation. He turned to Jareth and Electra. "You two should probably meet up with your contacts, and get out of the Collective before they scope both of you. They allowed you here on my better judgment, but now that Megabyte is free, they'll probably blame you. Call me or Kit if you need help."  
  
"Okay." Electra stood up. "Thanks. Anything we can do for you?"  
  
"Yes. FIX MY BED!"  
  
Electra laughed, grabbed Jareth, and exited the room.  
  
As they left, Backslash turned to Diode. "So, what DID happen to Flash's pants?"  
  
*******  
  
"I still don't see why we have to lay low like this," Jareth said, as the two of them exited Backslash's quarters.  
  
"We're viruses. This is the Supercomputer. Do the math."  
  
"But we're like benign or something. I'm half Guardian!"  
  
"Yes, you're half Chaos-Creating Virus and half Game-Dropping, Population-Nullifying User. The Guardians would just love you."  
  
"We helped defeat Daemon. We have Keytools. We're friends of Bob!"  
  
"Bob's record isn't exactly clean, not since that episode with Sierra Server. And if you don't keep it down, you'll get us both busted."  
  
"Okay, fine. I'll just--OW!" Jareth suddenly clutched at his head. His eyes began shining forth from his mask, illuminating the hallway. The Viral Guardian collapsed, once again falling to the floor.  
  
"Jareth? Jareth! Come on, snap out of it! Since when do you just collapse?"  
  
In a few moments, the white light stopped shining from Jareth's eyes, and they returned to their usual gentle green glow.  
  
"You okay? I guess those alarms hit you harder than we thought."  
  
Jareth shook his head. "That had nothing to do with the alarms.  
  
"What, then?"  
  
"I don't know. But I don't feel so good. It's been happening more and more, and I think it's getting worse.""  
  
Electra looked concerned.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll be okay. Now, who was it we were supposed to find again?"  
  
"Kas and Kiren," Electra answered, still looking doubtful. "They stayed behind when the rest of the Viral Rebels disbanded."  
  
"We're there." Jareth snapped his fingers, and the two of them simply vanished.  
  
******  
  
Kiren tossed his daughter Katrina in the air and caught her, prompting a giggle from the baby Virus.  
  
"Ah... A father playing with his little daughter. How sweet. Such a Kodak moment." Kas smiled, entering the room, her squidlike tentacles trailing like hair behind her.  
  
"Aren't you supposed to be looking for Megabyte?" Kiren shot a look at Kas.  
  
"Nope. I have to be here to greet our guests. Electra should be here any moment with that boy of hers."  
  
"I think you're referring to Jareth."  
  
"Whatever." Kas turned towards the monitor that watched the entrance to their place.  
  
"Did you hear that Katrina?" Kiren asked the squirming bundle in his hands. "Your aunt Kas is jealous."  
  
"I AM NOT!" Kas spat as she spoke.  
  
The door slid open, and Kiren's wife, Tartania, entered the room.  
  
"Guys, Jareth and Electra are here." Tartania took Karina, "I'll leave you guys alone with them."  
  
She re-opened the door and slid past as Electra and Jareth shuffled to get through the door at the same time. They both got stuck in the door, Electra directed a swift kick to his shin and managed to get through with him following close behind.  
  
"Hey Kiren, Kas. What that Tartania?"  
  
"Good guess. I suppose you saw the baby."  
  
"Adorable, Has your eyes. And Tartania's hair." Electra nodded as she spoke.  
  
"You call that hair?" Jareth asked, rather rudely.  
  
Kiren ignored him. "And she has Kas's tongue. I swear the two of them don't shut down when ever they're together."  
  
Jareth, never the patient type, broke in. "I hate to break up this little reunion, but I've got one of my own to get to. Where is my sister?"  
  
"Oh. She's here. Other room, She keeps asking about 'Skuzzy'?"  
  
"She's looking for Skuzzy here? Skuzzy's at home, I know. I tripped on him while looking for  
  
Hex." Jareth stated.  
  
"At least now we know why she came," Electra said.  
  
"Can I see her?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Sure, Why not? "Kiren stood up awkwardly, It was probably want hard for a squid to go from a sitting position from a standing position since their tails didn't have the muscles to support that particular movement. "Follow me."  
  
*******  
  
"Hex!" Jareth called, seeing her reclining on the couch, delicately picking at a bowl of fruit that the rebels had hospitably provided for her. "Hexy, Hexy, Hexy, you have been a bad monkey. You know you're not supposed to leave Mainframe."  
  
Hexadecimal looked puzzled. Jareth would have blinked if he'd had eyelids, he still wasn't used to seeing Hex's face actually move.  
  
"I'm not?" she asked.  
  
"You didn't know? None of the Viruses are supposed to leave the System. We're all part of some experiment of Bob's."  
  
Jareth sat down next to Hex on the couch.  
  
Now Hex actually looked hurt. "I'm just...some experiment to him?"  
  
"Umm.there's probably more to it than that," Jareth said quickly. "I don't know all the details. I just heard Him and Kit talking one night at the Diner, the day before she left for here."  
  
"What did they say?"  
  
"You want it verbatim? You came to the wrong guy. All I know is that when Kit asked if we would be able to come visit sometime, Bob said none of the Virals were supposed to leave the System."  
  
"Oh," Hex said. She looked subdued for a moment. "Well," she said finally, "if it's that important to Bob, I suppose we should head home."  
  
"Just one problem. We need to lay low. Megabyte's escaped from his cell-"  
  
"I figured he would." Hexadecimal said carelessly.  
  
"And the Guardians are probably out searching the streets for Electra and me right now. Backslash said they'd blame us for his getting out."  
  
"You?" Hexadecimal turned so that she was lying sideways on the couch, he head hanging downwards. She was now facing Jareth upside-down. "You've never gotten along with Megabyte. Why, I'll wager you were looking forward to him getting deleted."  
  
"Wellll...maybe a little."  
  
"That's what I thought." Hexadecimal returned to her former position, reclining on the plush sofa. "Grape."  
  
"What?"  
  
Hex pointed to the fruitbowl. Following her gaze, Jareth grabbed the bunch of grapes from the container and threw them to her. Making the tiniest incision in the skin of the grape with her claws, she delicately peeled it, popped it into her mouth, and chewed contemplatively.  
  
"You said Electra was here with you?"  
  
"Yep. Hmmm. Where did Electra go, anyway?" Jareth stood and walked across to the door, pulling it open. "Electra?" He gazed into the dark room, lit only by the screens of the many VidWindows. Electra was slumped in the chair, her legs resting on the control console. "Electra?" Jareth closed the door quietly. "Electra's asleep. We'll talk to her later..."  
  
******  
  
With a yell, Electra woke up, wondering who was in pain. She looked down to her leg, and saw that her unsheathed claws were extended deeply into her leg. She was mighty lucky that she had catlike claws and not razor-edges knives like the rest of her viral family had. She retracted her claws, flinching slightly.  
  
"You always punish the one you love, eh?" Jareth said reaching a hand down to Electra. She had fallen from the chair and was sprawled on the ground. "I heard you crying. Bad dream?"  
  
"Very bad dream." Electra took Jareth's hand.  
  
"Lemme guess. Hex, Megabyte, and I converged. Mom appeared."  
  
"Uh yeah...," Electra was momentarily puzzled. "How'd you know?"  
  
"I've been having the same dream. So has Hex."  
  
"And I'll wager Megabyte has, too. If we're all having them, then they can't be just dreams. What do they mean?"  
  
Jareth started massaging his temples, as though he had a headache. "I...can't remember. But I get the feeling that I used to know." He started pacing back and forth.  
  
Electra sighed, long accustomed to Jareth's ineffective memory. "Is there anyone you can think to ask?"  
  
Jareth froze. "Yes. Backslash. We should ask Backslash."  
  
"Backslash? Why him? What would he know?" Then the light bulb came on over Electra's head. "He was there. Backie was there when Daemon created her offspring. He knows the whole story. And Jareth-the original Jareth-was there, too...that's why you almost know."  
  
Jareth nodded.  
  
"I'll call," Electra said, grateful that some semblance of a plan was forming. "BuBBle-get me Backslash."  
  
There was the usual pop-up noise as a Vidwindow appeared, but the face that was displayed wasn't Backslash's, but Kit's.  
  
Electra grinned, despite herself. "Why, Kit. Fancy finding you there."  
  
"Electra! Backie told me you were in town. What's up?"  
  
"Long story. Can we talk to Backslash?"  
  
"Right here," Backslash's voice called. The VidWindow's angle swung around as Backie turned it to face him. "What's wrong?"  
  
Electra quickly described the dreams they'd been having, with occasional (And unhelpful) comments from Jareth.  
  
"This is Bad, Electra. Do you know why Daemon created her offspring in the first place?"  
  
"No. That's sort of why we called."  
  
"I can't believe I forgot about this. But it was so long ago... Daemon created Megabyte, Hexadecimal, and Lore as back-ups of herself. If she was ever deleted, they were supposed to re-unite, and rebuild her code. They're meant to resurrect her. It's what they were built for. These dreams...it sounds to me like that basic function is coming to the surface. They're being driven to fulfill their function. You're sharing the dreams because you have Lore's code, or at least, part of it." Backslash looked, if possible, more worried than Electra felt. "In fact, it's probably no coincidence that they're all here, in one place, so soon after Daemon's deletion. They could have had any number of reasons for coming here, but the truth is that it was built into them."  
  
"So what do we do?"  
  
"I say we should get Jareth and Hex back to Mainframe. Meggy can't form portals, last I knew...and no one here's about to give him a ride. As long as they're separated, I think we're safe"  
  
"Good idea. But are you sure it'll work?"  
  
"I hope so. The only trouble is, can we get the three of you out of here before Megabyte finds you?"  
  
Electra had another light bulb. "I'll have Kas and Kiren keep tabs on him, so we'll know where NOT to be."  
  
"He'll be tricky to find. The collective's been searching-"  
  
"Please." Electra dismissed the argument with a careless wave of her hand. "The Viral Rebels have gear that's second's ahead of anything the Guardians have. How do you think we managed to avoid Daemon so long?"  
  
Backslash grinned sourly. "As a loyal member of the Guardian Collective, I'm supposed to report things like that. But just this once, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear it."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"No problem. Tech-Holo-Emitter."  
  
Backslash brought up a transparent representation of the Supercomputer. "Meet me here," he said, pointing to a location on the chart. "We'll make arrangements to get you home immediately."  
  
"Great," Electra said. "Well, what are we waiting for?"  
  
*******  
  
With a muffled metallic clanking sound, Megabyte scurried across the pipes in the sewer. Once again, he scowled. This was hardly the way he'd like to travel. But with Guardians all over the System out looking for him, it really was the most expedient course to take.  
  
Before he knew it, he was at a crossroads, a place where the pipe split into three directions. His eyes narrowed, his tentacles writhed through the rancid air. Suddenly, he knew. That way.  
  
Fast as he could, he took a right and continued running for all he was worth. He didn't know what he was chasing...he preferred to think that he was chasing something, not running from something...but he knew where it was, instinctively. Maybe once he found it, he'd know why.  
  
And it wasn't as though he had other plans. Sit in the stinking sewers, and wait to get caught again? They probably wouldn't even bother capturing him the next time. And any hope of an actual rescue had perished with his mother..even though he hadn't been there, he had felt it when she'd been deleted. He didn't know how, but he was just certain that Bob was to blame.  
  
Bob's time would come. And the boy. The hacker. All of them. And as for his treacherous siblings...  
  
Megabyte grinned maliciously as he raced down the pipe.  
  
******  
  
"Are we there yet?" Jareth asked, for the seventy third time. Sad. Electra found that she'd actually been counting. It took her mind off the immediate problem.  
  
"No."  
  
As the trio of Virals turned a corner, Jareth stopped and cocked his head to the side, as though he were listening to something. "I think it's this way."  
  
"What" Electra turned around and looked at him, then glanced at her map. "No it's not. It's this way...the way we've been going."  
  
"Are you sure? I really think we're supposed to be going this way."  
  
Hex spoke up. "I agree. There's something over there... I wonder what it is?"  
  
Electra flew around them, standing between them and that which they wanted to pursue. "Look, if you feel that you should be going this way, then we definitely shouldn't. It probably means that Megabyte's nearby. It's your instincts again...driving you to merge."  
  
"Oh, don't be ridiculous," Hexadecmal said, rising off the ground and floating towards the strange compulsion. "I just want to see what's going on. It's something...tingly. Don't you feel it?"  
  
To Electra's surprise, she found that she did... a strange compulsion to follow in that direction. She almost floated after Hex...but then she caught herself. What was she thinking?  
  
Hexadecimal began flying faster, as though the closer she got, the stronger the attraction became.  
  
"Jareth...come on. We've got to stop her."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Jareth?" Electra turned. Jareth stood, shuddering, clearly trying to stay where he was. His masks began changing erratically, and he took a few jerky, compulsive steps forward. "Jareth come on! You've got to fight it!" Electra flew over and tried to hold him back, but unfortunately, either Jareth was stronger than Electra, or the force pulling him was. Slowly, but undeniably, Jareth was following Hex...and, like Hex, the closer he got, the stronger the pull became. Soon he was unable to fight at all, and, knocking Electra out of the way, was flying off after his sister.  
  
Electra was aghast. "Not good. This is not good."  
  
*****  
  
"Electra, calm down."  
  
"Calm down? Kas, I can't calm down. Do you realize what's going to happen if those three actually meet? We'll be absolutely screwed, and NOT in the good way! What do we do?"  
  
The squidlike Virus took a deep breath, and spoke calmly as she could to the VidWindow in front of her. "Listen, they're flying in a straight line, right? All you need to do is open a portal in front of them. They'll fly right into it."  
  
"That won't work! I need a huge tear to portal between Systems, and it'd take too long-"  
  
"Okay, okay. Where are they headed?"  
  
"Due...umm...thataway." Electra pointed.  
  
"Towards the P.O. Umm...Okay, I'll call Backslash, and tell him to be there. I'll send Kiren, too. Meet them there, maybe you can hold off the convergence long enough for me to find a suitable tear."  
  
"But how will we get them to enter the portal?"  
  
"We'll burn that bridge when we come to it. Just be there. Kas out."  
  
*****  
  
An unusual sight greeted Electra as she arrived at the P.O.: Backslash and Kiren, involved in a sort of charades game with Jareth and Hexadecimal.  
  
"What the defrag is going on?" Electra asked as she touched town, bewildered.  
  
"It was pretty strange," Backslash said. "Once they arrived, they went back to normal. No more of that weird compulsion Kas told us about. I guess it's because Megabyte hasn't arrived yet."  
  
"This is just great. Megabyte's coming, and we have no idea how long it'll take for Kas to find a tear." Electra threw her hands above her. "That's it. Life is officially over! We're all screwed!"  
  
"Someone's in a bad mood," Hexadecimal said. "I don't see what you're so upset about. I'm the one who's losing. I can't work out what Jareth is." Hex motioned towards Jareth, who sat on the green in the User famous 'Thinker' pose. "Do you have any ideas?"  
  
"She's not even playing. I can't believe you don't know this!" Jareth made a rather convincing statue; his lips never moved.  
  
"Hush. Statues aren't supposed to talk." Electra walked passed, hitting him on the shoulder. She purposely fell down next to Jareth, and rested her head on his shoulder. "We're still screwed."  
  
"Unless Kas can find a Tear in time."  
  
"Even then, it'd be tricky," Jareth said. "For one thing, Hex and I can't leave."  
  
"What do you mean? Don't worry about Megabyte, the Guardians-"  
  
"No, I mean we CAN'T leave. We've tried. Every time we get a certain distance away... it's just... I can't explain it."  
  
"Great. Well, Kiren and Backie could push you through the portal, while I held off Megabyte."  
  
"I've seen the movies, Electra. Leaving one person behind never works, it just gets that person killed. Besides, I think we're probably stronger than Backie and Kiren."  
  
"There is another option," Backslash said. "When Megabyte shows up, we take him out." The Guardian unclipped the lightsaber from his belt and began twirling it like a baton. "Delete him before the convergence can take place. Without all three offspring..."  
  
"No new Daemon," Kiren finished. "I think that that's probably our best course of action." Kiren eyed Backslash almost approvingly. "You know, if you weren't a Guardian, I could almost get to like you."  
  
Megabyte sneered at the voices above. There were two he didn't recognize, but the others belonged to his siblings. So, they were here as well. Had they been drawn here, the way he had? Well, he would soon find out.  
  
With a mighty leap, the Black-armored virus knocked the manhole cover aside and landed smoothly on the sidewalk. He glared about, extending his jagged claws. Hexadecimal stood on a patch of grass nearby, and Jareth sat on the ground beside her. The foolish girl in the blue dress stood nearby, as well. Good. He could delete them all at once.  
  
Backslash fingered the switch on the side of his weapon, and a brilliant beam of energy emerged from one end. The Blue-green skinned Guardian swung his blade, intending to slice Megabyte cleanly in half at he waist&but just then, something remarkable happened. Megabyte began to glow. Hexadecimal and Jareth began to shine from within as well, and even Electra's pale green skin began to shimmer slightly. As Backslash and Kiren watched, the glow grew, swelled, and enveloped the surrounding area, forcing them back, away from the Viral siblings.  
  
Electra stared, aghast. It was all happening, just like the dream. They stood in an equilateral triangle, facing one another, claws extended. As one, they took a step foreword.  
  
"No! Jareth! Snap out of it!" Electra flew over and dropped into the very center of the triangular arrangement, managing to penetrate the pervasive force that held the others back. She began trying in vain to push Jareth back, away from the other two, but she still wasn't strong enough.  
  
The convergence occurred. The outlines of the Virals were lost in haze of violet-white light, and the very air seemed to be full of nervous energy. Small comets of Green, Black, Red, and Blue light streaked around the edges of the barrier.  
  
But then something happened. The energy seemed to just... go wrong. It was nothing one could identify, just an undeniable sense of wrongness that permeated the energy-saturated air. Even Kiren and Backslash felt it, such was the power involved.  
  
"What's going on?" Kiren asked, shielding his eyes from the blinding glare.  
  
"Something's wrong," Backslash answered, yelling to be heard over the high winds that the Virals were kicking up. "Megabyte, Hex and Lore were created by Daemon, so that they could make a backup for her if she were ever deleted. But Electra's code was never meant to be thrown into the mix! Neither was Jareth's, or that Webcreature of Megabyte's! They're-"  
  
Anything else Backslash had to say was drowned out as the energy flux built to a crescendo. A horrendous thunderclap shook the System, and everyone found themselves thrown back by the shockwave.  
  
Electra blinked, rising to her feet. She looked around, and saw that her three Viral siblings lay in various states of disarray around her.  
  
To one side lay Megabyte, his armor once again a shocking cobalt-blue. His claws were extended, and those that were previously rough and jagged were whole, their razor-sharp edges gleaming in the sunlight. Some distance behind him lay a Webcreature, it's scaly hide torn by the force of the explosion, it's tentacles badly tangled.  
  
To the other lay Hexadecimal. She no longer wore the stylish new outfit that Megabyte had given her when he'd rebuilt her after she was shattered by the Game Cube. Rather, she wore her original clothing, complete with her bizarre, five-pointed headpiece. Her smooth, soft face was once again a porcelain mask, frozen in an expression of surprise.  
  
Equally distant from either lay Jareth, his feathers ruffled, his leather coat crumpled about him as he looked around in confusion. His mask, too was shocked, and... wait.  
  
Jareth's clothing beneath his coat was no longer the dyed-black Guardian armor he usually sported, and instead of his usual Clawhorn-shaped Icon holder, he wore a golden triangle on a chain around his neck. A short distance behind him lay... Jareth?  
  
Suddenly, it dawned on her... Jareth had been separated! The masked Virus wasn't Jareth at all, it was Lore! Jareth lay collapsed in a heap behind him, his armor badly scratched.  
  
Before she new it, Electra was at his side. Surprising everyone, including herself, she kissed him full on the lips.  
  
The kiss ended, but before anyone could react, a voice called out from behind her.  
  
"I am Daemon."  
  
Shocked, Electra spun around, and saw a beautiful sprite descending from the sky (She'd been floating right above her head, Electra realized.). Her clothing was a mix of various purples and blues, all done in pastel shades, and her skin was a light violet. Around her head was a strange tiara, shaped like a horseshoe rayed with delicate spines. Around her neck she wore an hourglass, like the ones depicted on her sleeves. She spoke in an innocent voice, slightly distorted by her French accent. This was not the Daemon Electra knew...but then, that Daemon was deleted and gone.  
  
"I am not an entity. I am a time," Daemon continued. "My time... begins."  
  
As Daemon finished her statement, her feet touched the ground. Instantly, thin tendrils of energy snaked along the floor, infecting all they touched. Lore, Megabyte, and Hexadecimal seemed unaffected, but the tendrils were rapidly approaching Jareth and Electra.  
  
"Tech-Energy shield!"  
  
The tendrils found themselves balked, cut off from their targets by a solid wall of energy. Backslash ran up to Electra and Jareth, followed by Kiren.  
  
"We've got to get out of here!" Backslash said. "I need a tear."  
  
Electra raised her arms, attempting to create a tear with her Viral powers... but nothing happened. Examining her arms, Electra found that she no longer wore her flowing blue-green dress. She once again wore her ordinary jumpsuit. On closer inspection, she found that her claws were missing. She didn't even have the Viral codes she'd downloaded from Jareth/Lore so long ago. For the first time, she noticed that a shimmering golden mask lay on the ground nearby: the Viral upgrade that  
  
had once been her face. She hastily picked it up.  
  
With impeccable timing, a small ship flew nearby, towing a large tear behind it. Kas had come through, after all...better late than never, Electra supposed. As it passed overhead, its hauling cable released it's cargo, and the tear fell to the ground nearby.  
  
"Backlsash, the portal!" Electra said. "Now would be a good time!"  
  
She was right. Tech's energy shield wouldn't be able to hold off an infection of this caliber for much longer.  
  
"Tech--portal."  
  
Tech's energy stabilized the tear into a shining, silvery portal, and the group quickly dived in.  
  
"Not without me, you don't!" Lore yelled, and followed, rapidly pursued by Hexadecimal, just before the portal closed.  
  
Daemon's energy rapidly spread, until nothing in the Supercomputer remained unaffected. "My lady," the nearest resident said, bowing. "How may we serve you?"  
  
Daemon smiled. "All must hear ze word."  
  
A sharp, scraping metal sound distracted her, and she turned to see Megabyte standing over the injured Webcreature, claws extended. In moments, he'd completely eliminated the hapless animal. It shimmered, faded, and was quickly deleted, as though it had never been.  
  
"Such brutality," Daemon said, in a shocked, concerned tone. "How could you do such a thing?"  
  
"The creature had far outlived its usefulness," Megabyte replied, without looking at Daemon. "And its instincts were such an inconvenience. Destroy this, devour that, mate with the other." Megabyte turned and scrutinized the new Daemon. "But I digress. You are Daemon, correct?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You don't know who I am, do you?"  
  
Daemon shook her head. "No."  
  
"Indeed?"  
  
"You are a Virus. Is zat not enough? Should we not be friends?"  
  
Megabyte looked around, taking in how easily Daemon 2.0 had felled the largest power base on the net. "It would be... my pleasure."  
  
*******  
  
Phong took another sip from his frothy drink, moving the little umbrella out of the way. Adjusting his floppy straw hat, he leaned back in his beach chair and closed his eyes, ready for a nap. There was just something about the sound of the waves of energy crashing against the beach that tended to lull one.  
  
He'd needed this. He couldn't remember the last time he'd taken a vacation. Ah, he reminded himself, But this isn't a vacation, is it? You're retired now. No more office to go back to, no more paperwork, no more potential System crashes to prevent...  
  
But somehow, he didn't seem to be too happy about this. Why not? He'd done enough, he'd earned this break. Dot could handle the responsibilities of being Command.Com, she'd done it during the battle with Megabyte. She could probably do the job better than he could.  
  
Eventually, Phong managed to pin down the source of his disquiet: He'd LIKED it. He'd enjoyed his job in Mainframe, he'd gotten used to feeling needed and appreciated. What did he have now? A beach house, a hawain shirt, and a floppy straw hat. Sure it was nice, but what he really wanted was to return to Mainframe, and not just for a visit, but to stay, to return to his old job, or at least a position in the Principal Office. They could stick him in mail room for all he cared, he'd still be happy.  
  
What he wouldn't give for just a glimpse of a familiar face... Dot, Matrix, Bob, Mike the TV. He'd even be happy to see Hexadecimal, at this point.  
  
There was a sudden flash of light, and a gust of wind that forced him to grab hold of his hat before it flew away. Sitting up, Phong opened his eyes just in time to see six people-shaped objects tumble headfirst into the sand, and to see a portal snap closed. The nearest Sprite rose up out of the sand, leaving the ground entirely-and Phong did a double-take. It was Hexadecimal.  
  
"Should have asked for money," he muttered, shaking his head. Gradually, most the others stood up, brushing themselves off, and Phong was only slightly surprised to see that he knew each and every one of them... except for the one that resembled an octopus.  
  
"Electra," he asked, getting out of his chair and wheeling over to her, "Are you okay?"  
  
Phong helped brush the sand from Electra. "Phong?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I live here," he replied. "Not that I mind the company, but what are YOU doing here, my child?"  
  
Electra quickly brought Phong up to speed. "And so, now we're here, and..." Electra sighed. "I don't know what to do anymore. I think I need a nap."  
  
Phong quickly took charge, as he'd been yearning to do. "Yes, I think you could do with a rest. Come inside. I will contact Mainframe and warn them to commence lockdown. They can have Bob portal us back..."  
  
"Us? You're coming? We didn't mean to bother you, Phong..."  
  
Phong waved that aside. "I wasn't enjoying myself very much, anyway. Come... Oh, your friends are welcome of course, as well. I'm afraid I don't have much tooffer in the way of accommodations, just...." Phong did a double-take. "Jareth?"  
  
"Didn't I mention that?" Electra said. "Something about the merge. It separated Jareth from Lore."  
  
"This is wondreful! it is good to have you back, my son."  
  
"Good to be back... I think," Jareth replied. "Where was I?"  
  
Phong blinked. "You....do not remember?"  
  
Jareth shook his head.  
  
"I think you had better come inside as well."  
  
Phong turned to Hex, Lore, and Kiren. "As for you three...do you think you can behave yourselves until we return to Mainframe?"  
  
Kiren nodded, but Lore and Hexadecimal both switched to sinisster masks and unsheathed their claws. Phong shrank back; he'd forgotten that each of the chaotics had been stripped of their stabilizing factors.  
  
Kiren spun around and, with two flics of his tentacle, flung two small objects onto the two Viruses. Immediately, waves of static electricity arced over both of them, and they fell to the sand, stunned.  
  
"Viral stasis field generators," he explained. "Good thing they didn't see it coming, I don't think we could have stopped them if that hadn't worked."  
  
"Why would you have those?" Jareth asked. "You're a Virus, too."  
  
"Most Viruses chose to ally themselves with Daemon, when she took over the Supercomputer. The rebels had to be prepared to deal with Virals as well as Guardians. And, just for the record, I am NOT a Virus."  
  
"You're not?" Backslash asked, surprised.  
  
"Daemon took over the Supercomputer?" Jareth asked, sounding just as surprised.  
  
Phong shook his head; it seemed that Jareth was sincere about not having any memory of recent events. He ushered everyone up to his beach house, which, fortunately, wasn't far off. Backslash and Kiren had to carry Lore, while Jareth and Electra hauled Hexadecimal up to the house. Dropping the two on the nearest available piece of furniture, Kiren, Backslash and Electra welcomed Phong's offer of a place to rest.  
  
As his visitors retired to their various chosen places around the house, Phong trundled over to his communications console and dialed in a series of numbers.  
  
Moments later, a VidWindow opened before his eyes.  
  
"Phong!" Dot cried. "Good to see you! How's everything?" Dot's eyes glanced to the Sprite standing behind Phong. "Hi, Jareth." Dot did the same double-take Phong had. "Jareth? Is it really you?"  
  
Jareth waved. "Hi, Dot."  
  
"But, how? I thought..."  
  
"It is a long story, my child, and I'm afraid we have little time to discuss it. But it is vital that everyone here return to Mainframe as soon as possible."  
  
Dot nodded. "Okay, Phong. I'll have Bob open a portal immediately."  
  
A loud snore issued from the Vidwindow, and Dot's expression grew much more annoyed. Phong merely smiled.  
  
"It seems that Bob needs rest, as do my visitors. Have him open the portal when he wakes. By then we should be prepared. Oh, and Dot, I must ask you to initiate a full lockdown of Mainframe. Nothing in, nothing out."  
  
Dot nodded. "This must be serious."  
  
"Indeed. I will explain when we arrive. Farewell, my child."  
  
Phong closed the window, and turned to Jareth, who was looking at him expectantly.  
  
"Okay, Phong," Jareth said, arms crossed. "Spill."  
  
Phong sighed. "Very well. Sit down. It all began just after the Twin City Crash..." 


	10. The Relapse

Chapter Nine: The Relapse  
  
Author's note: Once upon a time there was a television program called Reboot. Reboot was a great show, and had a great many fans, but because of the stupidity of the networks, it seemed to have a hard time staying on the air. As a result of this, the show was canceled, leaving a great many questions unanswered. What was the nature of the disaster which befell the legendary Twin City? Just who was this 'Daemon', who had infected the entire Guardian collective? Who was the Matrix father, and what was he like?  
  
Many fanfiction authors took it upon themselves to answer these question, writing alternate histories to the Mainframe plot, since the true one was unrevealed. While these alternate backstories couldn't be proven, neither could they be disproven, so the fanfiction authors managed to get away with it... until one day, it was announced that eight new episodes of Reboot would soon be released. While this was unquestionably good news, it also meant that many pieces of fanfiction, particularly those that included these alternate story lines, would have  
  
their very foundations torn out from under them.  
  
One author, however, managed to cleverly integrate his fabricated history with the one these new episodes provided, with only a minimal changing of certain details. I forget his name, but it's really not important. What is important... well, I forget that, too. Screw it. I hereby present to you the Net's first and, to my knowledge, only attempt to integrate a prefabricated fanfiction story line with that of Daemon Rising, the long awaited Chapter Nine of the Viral Guardian Series: The Relapse.  
  
Enjoy.  
  
---------  
  
Jareth leaned back in his chair, his feet up on the Vidwindow that lay horizontally in the middle of the Read-Only Room. A smaller, upright canceled the wall he was facing, it's flickering light the only source of illumination in the room. Ever since being separated from Lore, his Viral half, Jareth had been watching the files, the recorded entries of the events that had occurred after his fusion. He couldn't clearly remember them, himself; memories were fuzzy, like forgotten dreams, and watching the files helped.  
  
Outside the Principal Office, a number of things were happening. Daemon, back from the dead (AGAIN), had managed to re-infect the Supercomputer, and, by degrees, much of the rest of the Net. Matrix and AndrAIa, riding new, specially prepared motorcycles, had gone out on recon. Because the ports to the Net were unsafe, they were relying on Bob and his portal-making abilities to get them in and out of the system.  
  
And then there were the local Viruses. Hexadecimal was back, and more dangerous than ever. Even Timesprite had crawled back out of the woodwork, and was causing all the trouble she possibly could.  
  
Fortunately, Backslash had fled the Supercomputer when he and Electra had, and was managing the resident Virals fairly well. In contrast to Hex and Timesprite, Lore had done the complete opposite: Vanished altogether. Mouse had looked into the matter, and learned that his portal had opened into a System called Acer. Well, at least he was out of the way.  
  
But, despite it all, Jareth stayed sealed away in this room. He always had been good at ignoring the world around him.  
  
"Hey," came a voice from behind him.  
  
Jareth spun in his chair to see Electra standing in the doorway.  
  
"Hey," Jareth answered.  
  
There was a brief, awkward silence, thankfully broken by Bob's scream from the VidWindow.  
  
Jareth turned back to the screen, just in time to see Megabyte launch Bob into the massive portal over Mainframe, right into the deepest part of the Web. As he watched, Hexadecimal confronted Dot, only to be driven back by Mouse.  
  
"Woah. Where was I when all this happened?"  
  
"Inside Lore."  
  
"No, no, no. I mean, where was I? I was in Lore, but where was he?"  
  
"Dunno," Electra said, entering the room. "I was out of town, myself."  
  
"That's right. That Guardian… Bob? He said you'd left Mainframe for the Supercomputer."  
  
"I'd have never gone if I'd known about Daemon."  
  
"Why did you leave?"  
  
"I'm sick of that question." Electra grinned. "Here's one for you: Now that you're you again, what'll you do now?"  
  
Jareth shrugged. "I dunno. Go back to business as usual, I guess."  
  
"What?" Electra asked. "Go on Guarding the System? Keep trying to find a way back to the User World? Think about it, Jareth. Mainframe has Bob now. And Matrix. That's two Guardians, not counting Backslash." Electra pulled a Zipboard from her belt, Maximized it, and bent it into a serviceable chair, then sat to face Jareth. "Most Systems don't even have one."  
  
"Yeah. I guess they don't need me anymore," Jareth looked back at the screen. "Maybe they never did."  
  
Electra let the self-pitying comment slide. They were typical of Jareth, every now and then. "And as for finding a way back… well…. think about it. You were…. how old when you arrived? 1.3? 1.5?"  
  
"I was thirteen. I think that translates as 1.4. Or something. I don't know." Jareth gave the floor a kick and sent his chair into a slow spin. "I never could figure out Virtual Time."  
  
"So you're quite a bit older now. I'd say at least 2.0. I don't think your friends or family would even recognize you. Not to mention the fact that they probably think you're dead by now."  
  
"No. Virtual Time is faster than Real Time, I know that much. I don't think I've been gone more than a week, or a month, tops."  
  
"Week. Month. I don't even know what those are," Electra said.  
  
"Yeah. And there are no Zipboards, no Vidwindows, and the televisions stay put and have mute buttons. The User World is a very different place. I never thought I'd get used to life in Mainframe."  
  
"But you worked it all out. You became a Guardian." Electra giggled.  
  
"You. A Guardian. Who'd have thought?"  
  
"Not me. When I first got here, I was happy enough just to learn that Mainframe had User-friendly toilets. I never planned on becoming anything, let alone a Defender of the System. The whole Guardian thing just… sort of happened."  
  
"You know, you never did tell me how."  
  
"I didn't? Well, then, pull up a chair… or a Zipboard… and sit tight. A long time ago, in a System far, far away…"  
  
"It happened right here. Not that long ago, either."  
  
"Hey, Who's telling this story? This is how we Users begin stories."  
  
"Okay. Okay."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
The Past………  
  
"Can I do it?"  
  
"No. You did it last time. It's my turn."  
  
"No way! I distinctly remember YOU opening the portal last time, Backslash."  
  
Backslash glared at Kit, who gave him the worst treatment any female Sprite could give to a male… The Look.  
  
Backslash sighed. "Okay. FINE. You can open the Portal to the Academy. This time. Next time, it's my turn."  
  
Kit grinned. "Okay!" she said in a disturbingly perky voice. "Clip-Portal!" The symbiotic tool on Kit's Bracer chirped, stabilizing the Tear in front of them into a Portal.  
  
"About time," came a voice from behind them. The two turned to see Jareth standing on the grass just before the docks, his arms crossed in mock impatience. "You two are probably late for class now."  
  
"We've been late before," Backslash said.  
  
"Yeah, but do it too many times and you'll be booted out of the Academy. Or worse. You know, they'll make you move to Supercomputer on a permanent basis if you can't manage the commute on time."  
  
"How do you know?" Kit asked, curiously.  
  
"I read the regulation manual."  
  
Blank stares.  
  
"I was bored."  
  
More stares.  
  
"Oh, get to class already. If you two have to leave Mainframe, I'll be stuck here with no one but Dot and Electra. Don't you DARE do that to me."  
  
(Hey! Something wrong with my company?)  
  
(Don't interrupt, Electra)  
  
Backslash and Kit laughed, then entered the portal, which closed in a flash behind them. While most Guardian cadets were required to make their home in the Supercomputer, those lucky enough to be given Keytools were permitted to remain in their home Systems, since they had the means to return quickly. But Backslash and Kit had just received their Keytools, so naturally, they were eager for any excuse to use them. This meant that they argued a lot over who got to do what, which Jareth loved. Few things were more interesting than a good argument, especially between friends of his.  
  
Jareth turned to leave the docks, watching the suddenly relieved Binomes. They always got edgy when a Tear had to be brought in from the Energy Sea to form a Portal, and now that it was gone, they were relaxing a bit…. but not too much. Most either eyed him warily as he passed or ran in pure terror. This was hardly surprising…. he was, after all, a User. A horrible, Game-dropping, Binome-Nullifying User.  
  
He giggled at the thought. Sure, he had played games before, and sure, he'd won… but after all, how was he supposed to know that there was a whole world inside the computer? In fact, he'd been questioned a number of times about the User world, mostly by the Command.Coms of Mainframe, Phong and Light. He'd barely managed to dance around the fact that the Users didn't even know they existed, since he didn't think that that little tidbit would win him any popularity contests. He didn't much care what people thought of him; in fact, he thought it was rather funny that people were afraid of someone like him, but he didn't appreciate the idea of being lynched.  
  
Suddenly, Jareth found himself lying face-down in the mud. He grimaced. Mainframe or not, mud was still mud. Examining his boots, he quickly found the cause: His shoelaces, worn down to next to nothing, were untied again. Re-tying the threadbare laces, he examined the rest of his outfit. His black cargo pants were torn, his jacket was faded, his T-shirt had seen better days. And almost everything was too small for him. New clothes were definitely in order. Too bad none were available. Whenever a Mainframer wanted new clothes, he or she simply downloaded them onto his or her icon, then clicked it, imagining the outfit he or she wanted. Thus an Icon acted as a wardrobe. More than a wardrobe, an Icon also cleaned any clothes that were stored on it, all one had to do was change, then change back, so one in Mainframe was ever criticized for wearing the same thing twice in a row.  
  
Jareth didn't have an icon. Whenever Phong or Light tried to give him one, the thing simply exploded. So until they found a way to register him, or get him back to the User World, whichever came first, he was stuck in the clothes he had.  
  
There was worse news. Whoever owned this computer did regular Viral scans. Any unregistered data was deleted as either Viral or wasted space. Unless they got him out of there or got him an icon soon, there was a good chance he'd be deleted… or whatever… when the User did the next scan. He'd been lucky so far; there hadn't been any scans since he'd arrived.  
  
(Why didn't you ever tell us about that?)  
  
He'd asked Phong and Light not to tell this to anyone. There was nothing anyone could do about it, so he didn't want his friends to panic. He didn't want their pity, either.  
  
(Oh.)  
  
Jareth sighed. Shaking off these depressing thoughts, he moved on to the next topic, all but forgetting the prior one. "What to do today?"  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
The Present………  
  
"I don't remember that day. Where was I?" Electra asked.  
  
"It was a school day."  
  
"That's right. You never had to go to school."  
  
"I wasn't allowed to go school. I scared all the other Sprites. Big Bad User."  
  
"Lucky."  
  
"Lucky? Did you ever wonder why I was so glad to see you guys at the end of the day? Why I was always waiting just off campus? I was bored out of my skull."  
  
"Anyway, continue?"  
  
"Certainly….."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
The Past………  
  
"Typical," Jareth complained. "Not one movie playing that I haven't already seen."  
  
"Y-Y-You see them all the d-day they arrive, Mr. User, sir," The jittery Binome running the ticket booth said.  
  
"You don't have to be scared. I won't hurt you," Jareth said. Then he grinned evilly. "I already ate."  
  
An expression of pure terror crossed the Binome's face.  
  
"I'm kidding." Jareth pointed to one of the Coming Soon! Posters. "When's that one coming out? It looks good."  
  
"Th-that one comes out on 1101100100," The Binome replied, still looking nervous.  
  
Jareth sighed. "Thanks." He turned the corner and walked away.  
  
The binome in the booth wiped the sweat from his forecube. "Phew!"  
  
"Boo!" Jareth cried, jumping out from the corner.  
  
He'd never seen a Binome run so fast.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
The Present………  
  
"Now, that was just mean."  
  
"No, that was just fun. Anyway, a funny thing happened to me on my way to…. wherever it is that I was going….."  
  
* * *  
  
The Past………  
  
"Phong?"  
  
"Yes, my son," Phong said, the VidWindow glinting in the sunlight. "I believe we may have found a way of registering you at last. Could you come to the Principal Office, please?"  
  
"Which one?" Jareth asked, grabbing the Vidwindow by the frame and turning it this way and that, looking behind it.  
  
"Mine, please, and…. Jareth? Are you still there?"  
  
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, Phong." Jareth put the Window back where it belonged.  
  
"Please, hurry… this may take some time, and the backup is timed to occur very soon."  
  
"Soon? How soon?"  
  
"I am not sure. Sometime between 0700 and 0800."  
  
"And what time is it now?"  
  
"0702."  
  
"Wonderful. I'm on my way, Phong. Valentine out." Jareth added with a flourish, closing the Window. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small disc, not much bigger than a tea saucer. He threw it to the ground, and it stopped short a few inches from the surface, spinning, growing, splitting in half until it grew into a Zipboard. Jareth stepped cautiously onto the conveyance. "I will never get the hang of these things."  
  
* * *  
  
"So you CAN register me?"  
  
"Indeed I can, My child," Phong replied. "There is one problem, however."  
  
The User-Sprite looked down at Phong. "What?"  
  
"We must use someone's Icon as a Base Code to build on." Phong looked closely at Jareth. "Do you think one of your friends would volunteer?"  
  
"Probably," Jareth said. "And then they'd chew me out for not telling them about the scan thing. Could you do it, maybe?"  
  
"I am afraid not, my son. As you may have noticed, my Icon is far different from the normal Mainframe Icon. Its format is not compatible with this procedure."  
  
Jareth sighed. "I guess I can ask Electra."  
  
"Err... It must be a male Sprite, Jareth. Otherwise, the results would be… uhhh… disconcerting."  
  
Jareth shot Phong a puzzled look, then decided he'd better not ask.  
  
"Then I'll ask-"  
  
"Backslash will not do, either, My son."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Can you keep a secret?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So can I."  
  
Jareth laughed. "Okay, fair enough. Well, those are all the friends I've got. So I need to find someone else in this System who'd be willing to help me." Jareth stopped short, realizing the momentousness of the task before him. "This should be REAL fun."  
  
Phong handed Jareth a small object, and Jareth took a moment to examine it. It was black, oblong, the length of his hand and about twice as thick. There were two circular indentations one on side, with a square red button between them.  
  
"What's this?"  
  
"This is the mechanism by which your Icon will be created. Once you have found a suitable donor, simply place his Icon into one of these slots, and press the button. The device will combine your energy with the codes from the donor's Icon to create a new Icon that will be keyed specifically to you."  
  
Jareth stuffed the box into his pocket. "Cool. Thanks, Phong."  
  
"You are welcome, my son. Oh... and good luck."  
  
* * *  
  
The Present………  
  
"So who did you finally find?"  
  
"Actually, he found me. But you're getting ahead of the story. After I… I…" Jareth suddenly found himself seeing double. He heard a loud thud, and moments later the pain finally reached him, telling him that he'd managed to fall of his chair. Everything began to dance. Colors blurred, objects swam into each other, flowing like mercury.  
  
"Jareth? Are you okay?" Electra asked, sounding as though she were speaking with a mouthful of bees. A small school of fish swam by, singing Christmas carols, and one snatched a bite of his ear just before it ran into a purple cactus and turned into a tennis ball. The flying yellow barbecue flyswatter upside-down flower monkey inert spookiness razimatazzzzzzzzz………  
  
He vaguely remembered the trip to the Infirmary. The ride there, the stretcher… the only thing he remembered clearly was at some point, he'd looked at his hand… and realized that he could see right through it.  
  
* * *  
  
"Sorry to bother you, Phong-"  
  
"Not at all, my child. I wish you had called sooner." Phong began expertly operating the scanning equipment.  
  
"Do you know what's wrong with him?" Electra asked.  
  
The platform on which Jareth lay began to hum, and a line of white light ran over him, as though he were in a giant photocopier. Moments later, Phong had the results.  
  
"Oh, dear…."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"It is not good. I'm afraid that pieces of Jareth's code are missing."  
  
"Missing?" Electra asked, incredulous. "How is that possible?"  
  
Phong dialed up a VidWindow, this one displaying Jareth's Vital Statistics.  
  
"Jareth's code was damaged in the explosion that created Lost Angles. The injuries he sustained would have certainly finished him… but he avoided that by downloading everything he had into Lore."  
  
"That always puzzled me. Why, of all people, did he choose Lore?"  
  
Jareth's voice, weak but clear, answered her.  
  
"Because from inside him… I could hold him back."  
  
Phong nodded. "Did you never wonder why Lore never caused nearly as much trouble as Hexadecimal did? Jareth was still processing within him, restraining his chaotic nature… although I must admit, Jareth's own nature is not far from chaotic itself."  
  
Phong turned back to the VidWindow. "The convergence that re-created Daemon also had the effect of returning each of her offspring to their original form." The VidWindow changed, now displaying Megabyte, Hexadecimal, and Lore, first as they had been just before the merge, then afterward, each looking as they had when they were first created. "Megabyte lost the attributes he gained by merging with a Webcreature, presumably to escape Web Degradation. Hexadecimal became fragmented again, as she was before Bob cured her. And Lore…"  
  
"Lore lost Jareth." Electra said.  
  
"Yes, my child. The force of the convergence purged Jareth's code from Lore's, and that code coalesced into the Jareth that we see now."  
  
"But Jareth's code is still damaged from the Twin City Crash, isn't it?"  
  
"I am afraid so." A sudden beeping sound filled the room. Phong closed the Window that displayed Jareth's condition, and opened another, this one showing the portal that lay just outside the Principal Office. Bob stood before it, his chrome Glitch Armor shining in the afternoon sunlight. The Blue-skinned Guardian looked drained, as he always did after using his Glitch powers.  
  
"Portal stable, Phong. I've timed it to collapse in two nanos."  
  
"Let us hope that it is enough time," Phong replied.  
  
* * *  
  
Phong left the infirmary, saying that since he was here, he may as well oversee operations from the War Room, leaving Electra with Jareth. She stood alongside his stretcher.  
  
"Come on, Jareth. Stay with me. You've cheated Deletion before. Do it again. Please?"  
  
She brushed an errant strand of hair away from his face… and pulled her hand back with a guilty start as he stirred.  
  
"Hmm? Hey," He said, blinking. "Bright in here."  
  
Electra rose, dimmed the lights, then strode back over to Jareth. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Like I flew into a wall." Jareth shook his head. "Did I just say 'flew'?"  
  
"Yep. You remember flying?"  
  
"Sort of. I'll never look at birds the same way."  
  
"Birds?"  
  
"Creatures from my world. I've always liked them, but…."  
  
"That's right. Birds and Angels. You were always going on about them. What did you call it? A 'feather fetish'? "  
  
Jareth's eyes crossed again, and his skin went transparent once more.  
  
"Jareth?"  
  
Noting the alarm in her voice, Jareth tried, with some success, to focus himself into solidity. "Still going," he said, grinning weakly.  
  
"You'll be okay. Just stay focused."  
  
"You forget who you're talking to?"  
  
Of course. Asking Jareth to stay focused was like asking a Null to dance the Hula: Possible, but not likely.  
  
"Well, why don't you tell me the rest of your story? That'll give you something to concentrate on."  
  
"Sure… why not."  
  
* * *  
  
The Past………  
  
That afternoon Electra met Jareth by the front gates of the school, as usual.  
  
"Free at last," she said, clicking her Icon and changing out of her School uniform. "I can't stand that foreign language class. Do YOU understand COBOL?" Without waiting for an answer, she plunged on. "Of course not. No one does. There's only one reason anyone would ever need to understand COBOL. And that's to be a COBOL teacher." Electra slung her backpack over her shoulder, and the two set off down the road towards the docks. "So, how was your day?" She asked.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, not bad. Pretty dull, actually."  
  
"That's what you say every day. Come on, what happened? There's something on your mind, I can tell."  
  
"It's nothing important." Just my life. "Come on, we'll be late to meet Backie and Kit at the docks."  
  
Electra grinned slyly. "Somehow, I doubt those two will mind being alone together for a few nanos."  
  
"Are you still on about that? Those two haven't shown any interest at all in each other."  
  
"Maybe Backslash hasn't. But Kit goes out of her way not to."  
  
"Did she tell you that?"  
  
"I'm not supposed to tell anyone that she told me that."  
  
"You just told me."  
  
"Loophole: I didn't tell you, I told you that I wasn't supposed to tell you."  
  
Jareth nodded, impressed. If there was one thing better than an argument, it was a technicality.  
  
Without much further conversation, the two had reached the docks, and not a moment too soon; as they watched, a portal formed and out stepped their friends. Jareth couldn't help but note that Backslash was carrying Kit's books, and he was sure Electra's sharp eyes had spotted it, too.  
  
"Hey, guys," he said quickly, before Electra could say anything embarrassing. "How was your day?"  
  
"Impossible," Kit complained. "They try to make us run the most difficult obstacle course ever, in under a nano. Not fun."  
  
"Yeah," Backslash agreed," We're not even allowed to use Keytools…. not that they'd help much. It's not that kind of course."  
  
"How about you?" Kit asked.  
  
"Jareth has something going on, but he won't tell."  
  
Jareth rolled his eyes. Why did he hang out with Electra again?  
  
(Hey!)  
  
(Hey, yourself. What did I tell you about interrupting?)  
  
"Something going on? Like what?" Backslash inquired.  
  
"Nothing important," Jareth said. Then seeing that he wasn't going to get out of this that easily, he added, "Phong may have found a way to finally register me. I finally get new clothes." It was the truth, as far as it went.  
  
They accepted this, although Electra still looked at him curiously, as though she didn't quite believe him.  
  
(I didn't. I knew there had to be more to it.)  
  
(Electra…..)  
  
(Interrupting again? Sorry.)  
  
* * *  
  
The Present………  
  
The time ticked away, and there was still no sign of the recon flyers.  
  
"It's no use," Bob said. He turned to Backslash. "Tell Phong we'll have to generate another-"  
  
Before Bob could finish, two custom-modified flying motorcycles shot out of the portal, pursued by a pair of Guardian attack vessels. A third followed, but it arrived just as the silvery orb collapsed. The entire rear section of the ship was severed, and it spun out of control, crashing into a nearby building and exploding in a large ball of flames.  
  
"Sorry, Bob," AndrAIa said, pulling up beside him. "We thought we'd lost them."  
  
"They're headed for the port!" Bob said. "They're going to open us to the Net!"  
  
* * *  
  
Back in the infirmary, Phong's face appeared as a VidWindow popped into existence.  
  
"Something wrong, Phong?" Electra asked.  
  
"I am afraid so. Daemon's forces have compromised our defenses. They have reopened Mainframe to the Net, and destroyed the Control tower."  
  
"She's locked the door open."  
  
"Precisely, my child." Phong looked over her shoulder to where Jareth lay.  
  
Electra followed his gaze. "Oh, he's fine for now," she said. "It seems to come and go. Between attacks, he seems perfectly normal."  
  
"That is to be expected. Do not be deceived, Electra; he may seem fine, but his very existence remains in jeopardy."  
  
"I know. He complained about being hungry."  
  
Phong actually smiled. "Vintage Jareth, no? Very well…. I see no reason not to give him some food."  
  
"Listen to that man, he knows what he's talking about," Jareth said. "Feed me."  
  
Electra smiled. "Thanks for keeping us posted, Phong."  
  
Phong nodded sagely, then closed the Window.  
  
Electra turned to Jareth. "Here's the deal, User Boy. I'll bring you something to eat, and you continue the story."  
  
"Deal."  
  
* * *  
  
The Past………  
  
With a muffled Bang, a shining, silvery orb shimmered into existence, far above Jareth's head. He looked up, as did his friends.  
  
"Uhh… Kit? Backie?" Electra asked nervously.  
  
"Not us," Kit said.  
  
"But it would have to be a Guardian, wouldn't it? Only Guardians can open portals."  
  
"I've read that Games can, too," Electra said. "But there's no Game here. It must be a Guardian."  
  
As Electra finished talking, a small green form flew through the portal, followed closely by a Violet-skinned Sprite wearing Blue Guardian body armor.  
  
"See? A Guardian," Electra said.  
  
"And that thing he's chasing must be…"  
  
"A Virus," Backslash said, consulting his Keytool. "Chaos creating, sporadically active, finite parameters."  
  
"Clip-Scope." Kit's Keytool clicked, whirred, and produced a telescope for her to look through. "Aww… she's cute."  
  
"Who? The Guardian?"  
  
"No, that's a guy. The Virus."  
  
"The Virus is cute?" Jareth asked.  
  
Kit shrugged. "See for yourself." She handed the telescope to Jareth.  
  
Jareth had to admit that Kit was right. The Virus looked like a small girl, easily smaller than Jareth. Her skin was a deep emerald green, her hair a shade darker. She flew across the sky, darting to and fro, and it was all the Guardian could do to keep up with her.  
  
"It looks like she's giving him a run for his money," Jareth observed.  
  
"He'll catch her," Backslash said confidently. "He's a Guardian."  
  
"I kinda feel sorry for her," The User said. "I mean, she looks harmless. I wonder what she did."  
  
"She's a Virus," Electra said, as though that explained everything.  
  
Suddenly, the skies overhead darkened.  
  
"Warning- -Incoming Game. Warning- -Incoming Game," The System's voice rang throughout the twin cities.  
  
"Come on," Electra said. "Let's book." Electra started to vacate the area, but stopped when she realized that no one was following her.  
  
"Guys? Incoming game?"  
  
"We're Guardians, remember?" Kit asked. "It's our job to defend the games."  
  
"But you're only trainees! You'll get creamed!"  
  
"Gee, thanks," Backie said sourly.  
  
"Jareth?" Electra asked.  
  
"I always wanted to see the inside of a Game," Jareth replied absently, staring at the sky.  
  
"But you can't even Reboot!"  
  
"So? I won't Reboot. No big deal. Besides," Jareth added. "He's coming, too." Jareth pointed to the Guardian in the sky. Sure enough, both he and the Virus were directly in the Game Cube's path. "Three Guardians. Count 'em. We'll be fine. And anyway," Jareth finished, as the Game Wall sealed around them, "it's too late now."  
  
  
  
***************************************************  
  
The Present………  
  
A fierce battle raged in the skies above Mainframe. By the hazy, electric violet light of a massive Game Cube, the Guardian armada fought against Mainframe's CPU's. Bob hovered, darting about, encasing the enemy ships one by one in glowing spheres of amber light. Running low, Bob stood still for a moment. His normally blue skin flickered, becoming transparent… then, drained, he fell….  
  
Only to be caught, held aloft by the last person he expected.  
  
"Bob? Need a hand?"  
  
"Hex?" Bob struggled to bring her into focus. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I thought I could help. After all, you are my favorite Guardian."  
  
"You? Help?"  
  
Hex smiled. "I'm better now, remember?"  
  
"That's right…" Bob shook his head, attempting to clear his thoughts. He hated when this happened…. his Glitch powers always did this when he pushed them. "I forgot." The first thing he had done when Hex returned to Mainframe was to defragment her once more. In a flash of crimson energy, both Guardian and Virus were gone from the sky, standing instead on the grass below.  
  
*****************************************  
  
"My Lady…"  
  
Daemon turned. "Yes, Daecon?"  
  
"Our forces have opened another system. It…..resists the Word."  
  
"Imagine that," Megabyte said, amused.  
  
"Impossible," Daemon said. "Show me."  
  
The wall in front of them lit up, becoming a massive VidWindow. CPU's fought with Guardian attack vessels.  
  
"Why do zey suffer needlessly, when ze Word is inevitable?" Daemon asked, genuinely puzzled.  
  
"There is more, my Lady. We have found him. We have a signal lock on Guardian 452."  
  
"Ze final Guardian," Daemon said.  
  
"Bob?" Megabyte narrowed his eyes at Daemon. "What do you need with him?"  
  
"He has done the unthinkable, and merged with his Keytool," Daecon answered, as though that explained everything.  
  
"And…..?" Megabyte sneered.  
  
"Zey are…inseperable?"  
  
"He is the perfect messenger for the Word."  
  
Megabyte sighed. He was beginning to tire of these people and their 'Word'.  
  
"Send a Zoom Room," Daemon said, smiling. "Bring my Messenger safely 'ome."  
  
*******************************************  
  
Bob and Hexadecimal had barely set foot on the grass when they were accosted…not by the Guardians, as Bob had suspected…but by something much, much worse.  
  
"This is Mike the TV, with an exclusive! Bob and Hexadecimal team up to defeat Daemon's Viral Hoards! Bob, as a close, personal friend of mine, could you tell the viewers….your plan?"  
  
Bob sighed. "Mike, I don't have time for-"  
  
Before the Guardian could finish his sentence, a large, roughly rectangular object shot down from the sky, landing directly atop him. Without a moment's hesitation, it rocketed off again, taking Bob with it.  
  
Mike blinked, then turned to his cameraman. "You got that, right? Oh, please, tell me you got that!"  
  
Hex frowned. "How rude." The powerful virus raised her hand towards the sky, and it began to glow from within with crimson light. In a flash, Bob lay in a disshelved heap on the ground at her feet, looking very confused indeed.  
  
"What…what happened?"  
  
"Nothing much Bob, but I'm beginning to realize…I've got a wicked sense of humor!" Hexadecimal broke into a short, maniacal chuckle.  
  
Bob smiled nervously.  
  
* * *  
  
The Past………  
  
"Tech-Game Stats." In the thick, inky darkness, Backslash's face was illuminated by the electronic glow from the screen of his Keytool. The eerie light made his skin appear neon blue. The glow was just bright enough to make out the walls of the tunnel they were in, which seemed to be carved from ancient stone.  
  
"Game Stats?" Jareth asked. "You can find out stuff about the game?"  
  
"Yep," Backie said, a touch of pride creeping into his voice. "These things would be hard to win without it."  
  
"The Game is called 'Maze'," Kit said, consulting her own Keytool.  
  
"The User has to make it to the castle at the center, within a certain time limit. If he doesn't make it, he loses."  
  
"I think I've played this Game," Jareth mused.  
  
"Where is the User?" Electra asked.  
  
"Three levels ahead…Spammit, he has a head start."  
  
Jareth was looking around curiously. In his own world, he'd had the habit of sleeping by day, and being more active at night…and although the sunlight in Mainframe wasn't quite as harsh as that in the User world, he'd continued doing so simply out of habit. As a result, his night vision was more acute than most, and he was able to see relatively well using only the light of Kit and Backie's Keytools.  
  
"I've definitely played this game before."  
  
"So where do we go from here?" Electra asked.  
  
"Good question." Jareth began searching the walls, singing that good question to a rather annoying tune. Apparently, 'Where Do We Go From Here' was a song he'd picked up somewhere. Moments later, he'd found something. "Here," he said. He pointed to a spot on the wall where on of the bricks seemed to be a bit looser than the rest. "When this brick is pressed, a passage should open to the next level."  
  
"Your plan," Kit said. "YOU push it."  
  
Jareth shrugged, and pressed the loose brick. With a rock-against-rock grinding noise, it slid back into the wall….and a panel opened at Jareth's feet, plunging him down into a dark chasm below. It all happened in an instant…the rock sliding back, the panel opening, Jareth's quick, silenced wail as he vanished….and then the trap door was closed, indistinguishable from the rest of the stone floor.  
  
"Okay…I'm guessing that that was the wrong brick," Backslash said, a bit startled himself.  
  
"Do you think he's okay?" Kit asked, concerned.  
  
" Who cares?" Electra said. "It was his own fault."  
  
"Yeah," Backslash agreed. "Come on, let's go win the game. If we're lucky, he's been killed in the fall, and we won't have to deal with him any more."  
  
(J….you do know that you have serious self-esteem issues, right?)  
  
(Yeah. I know.)  
  
* * *  
  
With a muffled 'Oof', Jareth landed roughly on the ground several levels beneath his friends. Luckily, the ground here was loosely packed earth, not stone, otherwise he might have been badly injured by the fall. As it was, he managed to twist his ankle.  
  
"Ow. Wonderful."  
  
Looking around, the misplaced User realized that torches set just above eye-level illuminated this level. Well, good. At least he'd be able to see. Wincing slightly, he began to hobble down the hall, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that could be a trap, or perhaps even an exit. Eventually, he came to an area where the walls had been carved into the shape of huge faces. The eyes of the statues seemed to follow him as he walked. Creepy. Suddenly, one of the statues spoke, dust falling from it's mouth as though t hadn't had the opportunity to say anything for a very long time.  
  
"Turn back!" It said. taking their cue from the first, the other statues began to speak up.  
  
"Turn back, while you still can!"  
  
"This is not the way!"  
  
"Beware. Beware!"  
  
"Take heed, for the path that you take will lead to certain destruction!"  
  
"You're an awfully talkative one," Jareth said to the last.  
  
"Too much?"  
  
"A bit," Jareth said.  
  
"I thought so, too. Thank you for your input."  
  
"No problem."  
  
"Oh, but it is. Now I must repay you. It's rude to accept a favor without doing one in return."  
  
Jareth didn't see that he'd done any great favor, but wasn't about to turn one down. He shrugged. "Okay. What can you do for me?"  
  
"Perhaps a bit of advice."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Ignore the statues here. We are only false sirens."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Messages, omens, signals, warnings, harbingers-"  
  
"Alarms?"  
  
"Whatever," The statue agreed crossly. "We're here to frighten people away when they're on the right track. You get a lot of false-" The statue paused.  
  
"Alarms."  
  
"-Here in the Maze," The face-shaped stone finished.  
  
"Ah. So I can tell when I'm on the right track by when something warns me to get off it?"  
  
"Not always. There are some false alarms that aren't false at all, they're there to trick people."  
  
"Reverse psychology. Clever."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So how can I tell if I'm hearing a real false alarm, or a false one?"  
  
"That's a very good inquisition."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Problem, query, enigma, quandry, riddle-"  
  
"Question?"  
  
"Whatever. I'm certain I don't have the answer. I am, after all, nothing more than a false harbinger. You'll have to figure it out on your own."  
  
"Okay. Thanks. I think."  
  
"Don't mention it. And I mean that," the statue said, a note of peril in it's voice. "I could get in trouble."  
  
Jareth continued on his way, wondering who in his right mind designed this Game. Some thought soon answered this: No one in his right mind. A complete luntic was responsible for this. Well, that was fine with him. It was the lunatics who made the world interesting, after all. Before long, he came to a rickety-looking ladder. He wasn't sure whether to trust it, or whether his ankle would enjoy being used to climb a ladder at this point, but he really had no choice. The tunnel ended here, it was either up the ladder or back the way he came, and it was quite a long walk…or rather, hobble.  
  
Jareth sighed. Up it was.  
  
* * *  
  
The Present………  
  
  
  
"Go. Away." Hexadecimal said, and with a single motion flung each and every one of the Guardian battleships out through the rift and back into the Net.  
  
As Mouse sealed the rift, covering it with a Firewall, The Virus came to rest before Bob…accidentally (ahem) launching one of the paramedic Binomes that was tending him into the air. "Ta-da!" she sang.  
  
Bob clapped, perhaps a bit nervously. "Great job, Hex!"  
  
Hexadecimal leaned in and tapped her cheek. "Kiss...." she chanted. Bob leaned in and gave her a nervous peck. Not satisfied, Hex grabbed Bob, dipped him, and gave him a passioante kiss square on the lips. Right on cue, a VidWindow opened, displaying an apparently outraged Dot.  
  
"Bob!" She cried.  
  
"Oh, Hello, Dot," Hex said, drumming her fingers impatiently on Bob's chrome armor.  
  
"Dot! I'll..uhh...get back to you." Bob abruptly closed the window before Dot could protest.  
  
Hex ran one finger suggestively over his armor. "Now, about that….downtime…."  
  
There was a sudden flash of light.  
  
"Oh…why, Bob….."  
  
"That wasn't me, Hex," Bob said, alarmed. He quickly stood up.  
  
Hexadecimal's Icon was spinning rapidly, and shining with its own inner light.  
  
"Oooh…it tickles. Er…should it DO that?" Hex suddenly sounded a bit alarmed herself. "Bob. Help."  
  
Before Bob could move, a swarm of Nulls seemingly appeared from nowhere, forming a living, pulsating shell around the Virus. Hexadecimal was trapped….inside.  
  
* * *  
  
The Past………  
  
The good news was, after a while, the aching throb in Jareth's ankle began to subside. The bad news was that he was hopelessly lost. He found himself wishing, not for the first time, that he'd spent more time playing video games and less doing his homework.  
  
Jareth turned a corner-and abruptly took a step back as something ran headlong into him. he found himself standing face-to-face (Or rather, face-to-navel) with a small, childlike-looking sprite, with skin of emerald green and hair just a shade darker.  
  
"Help!" the tiny sprite said, in a voice that sounded just a bit too innocent. "He's after me!"  
  
"Yeah, I know. You're that Virus we saw earlier."  
  
The Virus nodded, her eyes wide and afraid, seemingly too scared to talk. Jareth blinked. This was it? THIS was a Virus? This was what everyone in Mainframe got so worked up about, this was why the Guardians had been instated? To deal with creatures like this? The User shook his head, incredulous. No way. There had to be some sort of mistake. Well…..maybe the little critter HAD done something to warrant being chased, or maybe she wasn't quite what she seemed to be. After a while running around in the Maze, he'd learned not to take anything for granted.  
  
"Why is he chasing you? The Guardian? What did you do?"  
  
"Nothing much!" The Virus said, sounding very offended. "I just wanted to play with the pretty lights. What's wrong with that?"  
  
Jareth blinked again. She truly didn't think she'd done anything wrong? Well, that was enough for him. If she hadn't done anything, than she didn't deserve to be chased.  
  
"Good enough," he said. "What's your name?"  
  
"Timesprite," the girl said, sounding very pleased indeed that she'd managed to make a friend. "What's yours?"  
  
"Call me Jareth."  
  
"What are you?" Timesprite asked, with the all the directness of a child.  
  
Jareth paused. "I'm a User."  
  
"Realy? Oooh, neat. I've never seen a User before."  
  
"Not many people have," Jareth replied, a bit put off by Timesprite's lack of fear. Normally, people either assumed looks of disbelief or horror when he told them who and what he was, but Timesprite had nothing but curiosity. That made it official: Virus or not, he like this creature.  
  
"Say, Timesprite, are you any good at mazes?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, neither am I, it seems. Why don't you come and keep me company while I try to find my friends?"  
  
"Okay!"  
  
Just like that. "You aren't worried about getting lost in the maze, never getting out again? Or worse, losing the Game and getting Nullified?"  
  
Timesprite shook her head. "Nope. What's the point of worrying? There are only two kind of problems: The ones you can handle, and the ones you can't. If you can handle a problem, then there's no need to worry, and if you can't, then it won't help anyway."  
  
He was getting to like this Virus more and more. "Okay, then," he said. "Let's go get lost."  
  
* * *  
  
The Present………  
  
  
  
Without warning, a VidWindow popped into existance, interrupting Jareth's story. Phong's face blinked benignly at Electra.  
  
"Something up, Phong?"  
  
"I thought you might like to know that I have dispatched Backslash to System Acer, to locate and retrieve Lore."  
  
"Why?" Electra asked, looking puzzled.  
  
"Isn't it obvious, my child?" Phong tilted his head. "Jareth is ill because his Code is incomplete. In order for him to maintain his existence, he must recombine with Lore."  
  
Electra blinked. She'd just gotten him back! "Isn't there any other way, Phong?"  
  
"I am afraid not, my child. It is the only way to complete his code."  
  
She sighed. "All right. But how is Backie going to bring him back, with the system firewalled?"  
  
"Let us burn that bridge when we come to it. I'm sure we will think of something." Phong paused. "Oh, yes, and your Virus friend, Kiren…"  
  
"He's not a Virus."  
  
"Oh, yes. Silly me. Well, he went along as well."  
  
"Good. Backie will need all the help he can get in rounding up Lore."  
  
"Phong!"  
  
"Phong's head swiveled around as someone offscreen called for him.  
  
"Oh, dear. Electra, I must go."  
  
"Go on, then. They need you. Keep me posted?"  
  
"I will. Phong out."  
  
The Vidwindow closed, and Electra turned back to Jareth, who had gone transparent again.  
  
"You hear that? You'll be good as new in no time."  
  
Jareth nodded. "Hope Backie will be okay. And Kiren."  
  
"Oh, they can handle Lore."  
  
"Not just Lore. Acer is supposed to be a system inhabited entirely by Viruses."  
  
Electra blinked. She hadn't know that. "Umm...I'm sure they'll be okay. So, what happens next?"  
  
Jareth continued his tale where it left off, but Electra couldn't help but wonder how Kiren and Backie were doing....  
  
* * *  
  
In a darkened back alley of System Acer, a silvery portal opened, and two Sprites stepped out. each had the distinctive air of someone who was doing what he shouldn't in a place he doesn't belong…..but one at least seemed used to it.  
  
"Loosen up, Guardian." Kiren said. "You look exactly like someone trying to get away with something. They'll see you coming a mile away." The squidlike Sprite dusted himself off as best he could. The alley was dirty and full of litter, as alleys tended to be, but he didn't seem to offset by this. His sepentlike tail cut a relatively clean path through the debris.  
  
Backslash tried to calm down, but his Guardian instincts were all screaming at him. "Look, this is a system inhabited by Viruses. Nothing but."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So?! Do you know what they'll do if they catch me? You'll do fine. You can blend in. But Viruses and Guardians are natural enemies. If I'm seen-" Backslash suddenly stopped talking and ducked behind Kiren as pair of the System's denizens walked past the alley.  
  
Kiren laughed. "I told you, loosen up. Listen, most Viruses look a lot like regular sprites. It's so they can blend in."  
  
"I know what a Virus looks like."  
  
"Then you know that you can pass for one. Just keep your Icon hidden, keep Tech out of sight, and stop looking so guilty all the time."  
  
Backslash glanced at his bracer, where his Keytool, Tech, sat. "Umm…"  
  
Kiren caught onto the problem right away. "Not the easiest thing to hide, is it? And those uniforms don't have any pockets, do they?" The squidlike sprite considered. "I have pockets. I could hold him for you…" Kiren reached for Tech, but the Keytool let out a warning beep and flashed angrily.  
  
"Keytools don't let themselves be handled by just anybody," Backslash said, a bit smugly.  
  
Kiren sighed. "Then I'll just have to think of something else…"  
  
Backslash jumped, and hid behind Kiren again, as another Virus walked past the alley.  
  
Kiren just grinned, reached out with his tentacular arm, and hauled the Virus into the shadows with them. "This one looks about your size." In a few moment, Kiren has wrestled the Virus' jacket away from him and tossed it to Backslash. "This should cover the Keytool fairly well. Might hide the Icon, too, if you keep it closed." The Virus, obviously a lower-level Virus, cowered against the wall as Backie shrugged the jacket on, a slightly distasteful look on his face.  
  
"This thing needs to be cleaned," The Guardian said. The coat in question was a long brown coat, not entirely unlike the trenchcoat Jareth had worn, except that it wasn't made of leather. It actually didn't look all that bad on him, and did indeed conceal his Guardian armor fairly well.  
  
Backslash aimed his Keytool at the Virus, who immediately began to cower, but Kiren stayed his hand. "A large-scale use of a keytool would probably be detected. Let me handle this."  
  
Moments later, Kiren walked from the alley wearing a smug look of his own. Backslash followed, the look on his face torn between admiration, confusion, and horror. The Virus remained in the alley, plastered to the brick wall by a thick layer of hardened green mucous.  
  
* * *  
  
The Past………  
  
  
  
Timesprite turned out to be pretty handy to have around in a Game like this. In the rooms that lacked light, she could create her own, in the rooms that had ladders that one couldn't quite reach, she could airlift one up to them. Before too long, Jareth found himself alongside her in the middle of a massive garden, the hedges of which had been pruned into the walls of an intricate maze.  
  
"Ooh…," Timey said. (Jareth had quickly taken to calling the Virus Timey, for no particular reason.) "It's pretty."  
  
Jareth had to agree, whoever had cared for these plants and shaped them had done a very good job. And all of the bushes seemed to be designed to be distracting, some had thick, vile-looking thorns and would try to grab anyone who passed by with tentacles that it pulled out of sight when they weren't being used, some had shimmering flowers with petals that seemed to be carved from jewels, some grew plump, juicy looking fruit that smelled almost too tempting to resist. Timey grinned, and, hovering up to one of the higher branches, plucked one of the fruits. It was a round purple one, and smelled mouthwatering.  
  
"Umm…are you sure you should eat that?" Jareth asked, not quite trusting this place. But it was too late, Timesprite had already bitten into it. Jareth eyed one of the fruits on the lower branches. Careful to avoid any thorns, tentacles, or whatever, he plucked one and sniffed at it dubiously.  
  
"How can you tell if Game food's poisonous?" he asked.  
  
"Simple," Timey replied, taking another bite. "If you eat it, and you die, it's poisonous."  
  
Jareth sighed, gave up, and took a bite of the fruit.  
  
*************************************  
  
The Present………  
  
  
  
"A Null cocoon?"  
  
"Yes, My child."  
  
Electra shook her head. Nothing surprised her anymore. "Well, is she okay?"  
  
"We do not know. Our scans have not been able to penetrate the cocoon."  
  
"Well, let me know if…."  
  
Electra's words were cut off as sudden shouting emanated from the screen.  
  
"There he is!"  
  
"Here, Nibbles!"  
  
"Come back, Nibbles!"  
  
Electra grinned, that was Hack and Slash, chasing Megabyte's old pet Null. Bob's voice came from offcreen:  
  
"They still look after Nibbles?"  
  
"I think they're just covering their ASCIIs in case Megabyte ever comes back," Dot replied.  
  
Phong finally tilted the Window so that Jareth and Electra could see what was going on on the larger screen. The two robots were chasing a small, frightened green null back and forth, Until it finally ran into and joined with a large collection of nulls. That must have been the cocoon Phong mentioned....but as soon as Nibbles entered it, it began changing it's shape, folding here, shifting there, until it almost resembled a Sprite's face. "I Live..." it said in a badly slurred voice.  
  
"I don't believe it," Matrix said, staring slack-jawed at the screen.  
  
"Sis…that's dad! Isn't it?" Enzo asked, eagually shocked.  
  
"What?!" Bob asked, incredulous.  
  
"It's true, Bob. That is our father. That...THING....is Welman Matrix."  
  
****************************************  
  
The Past.....  
  
  
  
Jareth wandered aimlessly through the winding passages of the hedge maze, Timesprite at his heels. They didn't seem to be making much progress, but in a maze like this one, they really couldn't tell. For all they knew, the right path could very well be right around the corner. But unless there were some way of seeing it from above...  
  
Jareth blinked, stopping so suddenly that Timey ran right into him.  
  
"Timesprite, do you think you could fly up over the hedges, and see if we're going the right way?"  
  
Timesprite looked delighted. "I thought you'd never ask! I'll be right back." She rose into the air, and Jareth quickly lost sight of her.  
  
Jareth wandered on, Timey would find her way back to him in a moment. He'd be easy enough to spot from above, so he wasn't all that concerned about losing her, unless she got fed up with his company and wandered off. Rounding the next corner, Jareth encountered the last thing he expected to run into while lost in a hedge maze: a Guardian.  
  
He didn't exactly escape the Guardian's eye, either. The purple-skinned sprite aimed his Keytool at Jareth, who ducked back behind the hedge. There was a pause, during which Jareth expected a blast of some sort....but none came.  
  
"Hey. Friend or Foe?" Called the Guardian's voice.  
  
"Neither, yet," Jareth replied, just as guardedly. "Who are you?"  
  
The Guardian strode around the corner, still keeping his keytool trained on Jareth. "I am Guardian 669."  
  
"Your name, not your number."  
  
The Guardian blinked, lowering his Keytool. "Call me RAM."  
  
"Nice to meet you, RAM. I'm Jareth. Why'd you pull the Keytool on me?"  
  
"At first, I figured you for a Game Sprite. But those don't generally retreat, they simply attack mindlessly. So what are you?"  
  
"I'm....just someone who's looking for his friends."  
  
"You're a defender, then? Native to this system?"  
  
"Umm....sure, kinda."  
  
"Either you are, or you're not."  
  
"Untrue."  
  
RAM looked puzzled, but only for a moment, because at that moment...  
  
"Hey, Jareth!"  
  
Jareth winced as Timey's voice rang loud and clear in the sky above. Completely oblivious to the presence of the Guardian, she dropped to the ground right in front of Jareth.  
  
"This really isn't a very good way to go, because a ways ahead there's-"  
  
"Virus!" RAM brought up his Keytool and aimed it at Timesprite, who, noticing him for the first time, immediately assumed a terrified expression. "Splice--Particle Beam!"  
  
The energies in the Keytool audibly built up a charge, but just as they fired, Jareth leapt forward and shoved RAM's arm, spoiling his shot. The energy beam sailed off harmlessly into the air.  
  
RAM was caught somewhere between startled and furious. "Why did you do that?"  
  
"Because you were about to shoot her," Jareth replied simply.  
  
"But...but she's a Virus!"  
  
"I am aware."  
  
RAM didn't seem to get it, but before he could press the issue, there was a loud commotion from one of the passages behind them.  
  
"Oh, yes. I was about to tell you," Timesprite said. "There's a big bunch of ugly things coming this way. They don't look friendly."  
  
"Game Sprites," RAM said, consulting his Keytool.  
  
"Well, that's good, right?" Jareth asked. "They'll go after the User and leave us alone."  
  
"No. They're Chaotics. They attack anything, User or otherwise, indiscriminantly."  
  
"Then we'd better run," Jareth said."They're getting closer."  
  
The three immediately turned and ran, turning corners at random until they could no longer hear the advancing Game Sprites.  
  
"That was a bit too close," Jareth said, catching his breath.  
  
"It's not over yet," RAM said. He nodded back in the direction they had come. Jareth followed his gaze.  
  
"Where did that come from?" Jareth asked. For there, right where they had passed only moments before, was a solid brick wall, innocently sitting there as though brick walls routinely appeared from nowhere. "Well, now what?" Jareth asked. RAM gestured again, this time in the opposite direction. There stood a doorway, which, like the wall, hadn't been there before. Standing in front of it was a strange-looking Guard.  
  
"Who are you?" RAM asked.  
  
The Guard smiled, and in a rather creepy voice, replied,  
  
"If you would pass the gate I guard,  
  
Then you must listen, listen hard  
  
For if beyond you folk belong,  
  
You'll never guess my riddle wrong.  
  
What goes up comes down, it's true,  
  
So here is what I ask of you:  
  
What falls down, but does not stop  
  
And keeps on falling from the top?"  
  
Jareth blinked. A riddle? "We have to guess the answer to pass?"  
  
"Yes, guess," the Guard replied. It seemed he only spoke in rhyme.  
  
RAM glanced at Jareth. "I'm not much good at puzzles like these. Are you?"  
  
"Usually," Jareth responded. "But I can't seem to get this one. How many chances do we get?"  
  
"Take as many as you will, and tell me when you've had your fill."  
  
Jareth sat down on a rock and pondered the riddle. At least he had as many guesses as he needed. Now, what fell, and kept on falling? Obviously it couldn't be anything solid, like a rock, things like that tended to stop when they hit the ground. The image that came to his mind was a loop: something that would mysteriously reappear at the top once it hit the bottom. That couldn't be right. Maybe he was speaking metaphorically? Maybe night? Night fell, and fell again after the next day was up. So it did keep falling, kinda....Ah, but did it keep falling from the top? No, of course not, there was no top for it to fall from. Defeated, Jareth looked over at RAM and shrugged, frustrated. "I've got nothing."  
  
The Guard grinned, and spoke in rhyme once more. "Silly twit, you lack the wit."  
  
Jareth glared. "Who's a Twit, you stupid sh-"  
  
RAM cut him off. "Yelling at it won't help, Jareth. We have to solve the riddle."  
  
"Well, I don't know the answer, so unless you have some idea..."  
  
"A waterfall!" Timesprite suddenly shouted, startling both RAM and Jareth. They had forgotten she was there.  
  
The Guard smiled and vanished from sight, and the large wooden doors creaked open. Timesprite had guessed correctly, it seemed. Immensly pleased with herself, the tiny Virus few thrugh the double doors. Jareth shrugged, and followed. RAM looked too stunned to speak.  
  
* * *  
  
The Present...........  
  
"But enough about me," Jareth said. "What about you?"  
  
"Pardon?" Electra said.  
  
"Your end of the story. What happened to you guys after I fell?"  
  
"Oh, that."  
  
* * *  
  
The Past......  
  
  
  
"Jareth? Jareth!"  
  
"Electra, stop yelling at the floor. Even if he survived, which, knowing him, he probably did, I don't think he can hear you." Kit consulted the keytool on her left bracer. "I'm picking up a life sign, about four levels down. He's fine."  
  
Electra relaxed, but not much. "Let's hurry up and finish the game, then. It'll be the easiest way to get to him."  
  
Kit and Backslash nodded, and all three reached for their Icons. "Reboot!"  
  
There was a flash of green and yellow light, and Kit and Electra were transformed. Kit was now a short, metallic orb bristling all over with various guns. Electra had become just as short but neither as armored nor as armed, she had simply some crude metal armor and a rusty pike. Backslash hadn't changed.  
  
"Hey, Backie, why didn't you Reboot?"  
  
"I tried," he replied, looking rather puzzled himself. "Tech?"  
  
Tech's screen came to life, displaying an array of information. "Oh, I see," Backslash said, looking visibly relieved. "I didn't Reboot because my Game Avatar is too large for this tunnel. Once I get out into the open, it'll work. That's a relief, for a moment I thought there was something wrong with me."  
  
Electra looked about to say something, but Kit stifled it by prodding her with one of her gun barrels.  
  
"Well. let's go." Backie said. "Umm...I don't think we should try any more bricks. Let's just follow the passage."  
  
They started down the tunnel, but they made slow progress; in their current forms, Electra had extremely short, stubby legs, and Kit's legs were bowed and made of metal, so she walked with a waddling, rolling gait. It was all Backslash could do to keep from laughing, but then again, he had no idea what his avatar would be, except that it was big.  
  
So he kept his mouth shut.  
  
At length, they came to the light at the end of the tunnle, where it opened into a large, splendiferous garden.  
  
"Wow," Kit said, her voice sounding slightly mettalic, "This is pretty...."  
  
"It sure is," Electra said.  
  
No sooner had she spoken then a sound rang loud and clear throughout the garden, first just a few sharp taps, like sticks beating on stones, but soon it erupted into a full-scale melody. The music was joyful, if a bit erratic.  
  
"Umm....Where is that coming from?" Kit asked.  
  
"Them," Backslash replied, pointing. There, pouring into the garden from one of the side trails, was a flock of strange creatures with spikey red and orange hair, singing and dancing and (this was the part that made them all do various double-takes) removing their own heads and tossing them to each other.  
  
"Umm....Game Sprites?" Kit asked.  
  
"I guess," Electra replied. She held her pike out in front of her, although she wasn't quite sure what she should do with it; the critters didn't seem to be hostile.  
  
"Umm...maybe we can just walk past them?" Backslash said, and, suiting actions to words, attempted to move past the creatures. No sooner had he come within range than the firey-haired creatures spied him and tried to incorporate him into their game.  
  
"Hey, look! A new player!"  
  
"He's on my team! He's on my team!  
  
"No way! I saw him first!"  
  
One contingent of the creatures grabbed Backslashes right arm, another group grabbed his left, and the two immediately began doing their best to seperate the two from his body.  
  
"Hey!" he yelled.  
  
Kit braced her guns and fired off a volley, not actually aiming for anything, but enough to make a lot of noise. The firey creatures scampered off in all directions, leaving Backslash sitting in a collapsed heap in the middle of the courtyard.  
  
"What the motherboard was that all about?" he asked, dazed.  
  
* * *  
  
The Present......  
  
  
  
Dot Matrix stood before the now motionless cocoon, on the grassy field by Bob's apartment. She had been speaking to her father, hoping he could hear, but there had been no sign of him since his first manifestation when Nibbles first entered the swarm.  
  
"Warning....Incoming Game...." he voice of the System called, as the skies over head sudenly darkened.  
  
Dot took one glance at the sky and jumped on her Zipboard, heading for Bob's apartment. It was usually best not to tackle Games alone, and since there was competant help so close by, she decided to enlist it. No sooner had she gotten to Bob's front door than the Game landed, sealing the sector.  
  
"Dot?" Bob asked, surprised. The front door of his apartment wasn't part of the Game, So it wasn't here, but they were still standing in the same place. This put Dot standing about ten paces from Bob....right where he hadn't expected her to be. The setting of this Game seemed to be some kind of underground Crypt, with regularly spaced torches lighting the walls.  
  
Dot closed the distance. "Can you download the Game stats?"  
  
"Sure," Bob said. He closed his eyes. "The User is Raiding this Tomb. He wins by reading from the scroll of life....right over there." Bob gestured to a golden scroll on a pedestal just a few paces away.  
  
"Okay. Let's get this over with." Dot clicked her icon. "ReBoot!" In a flash of data, dot was transformed into a breif outfit like that of an egyptian sorceress, though her avatar was probably some sort of mummy. Dot put her hands to her waist, a slightly dismayed look on her face.  
  
"What's wrong?" Bob asked.  
  
"Well...I was hoping for a pair of 45's..."  
  
Bob brought his hand to his own Icon. "ReBoot!"  
  
There was a similar flash of data, but instead of transforming Bob, it knocked him off his feet. He fell to the floor, seemingly hurt.  
  
"Bob! are you okay?"  
  
Bob only groaned. Realizing that it was up to her, Dot dragged Bob to an empty sarcophagus mounted into the wall and closed him in, so that nothing could get to him. Once she was sure he was secure, she went after the User.  
  
* * *  
  
The Past.....  
  
Kit, Electra and Backslash wandered through the seemingly aimless halls of the Maze, trying to find their way to...well, anywhere.  
  
"This is hopeless."  
  
"Electra, if you say this is hopeless one more time, I'm going to slap you," Backslash said.  
  
Electra waved aside the empty threat. "I told you we should have taken that left."  
  
"Which left?" Kit asked? "They all look the same." Kit muddled along the passage as best she could on her short, bowed legs. "And I gotta tell you, I'm getting mighty sick of this game. AND this avatar. What in the Net am I? And why don't I have arms?"  
  
"At least you have some firepower," Electra retorted. "All I get is a spear."  
  
"I'd much rather have hands than guns," Kit replied. 'I have an itch I DON'T want to talk about."  
  
"Will you two pipe down?" Backslash asked. "Listen. Do you hear that?"  
  
All listened. There was a sound to the left, as of some large creature bellowing in pain.  
  
"Do you think it needs help?" Kit asked.  
  
"I doubt it," Electra asnwered. "It's not Jareth, and I doubt it's that Guardian. Anything else in here is liable to be a Game Sprite, the User, or the Virus we saw."  
  
"Still, if it IS a Game Sprite, we may be able to get it on our side.  
  
Most Game Sprites are designed to fight the User, after all," Backslash said.  
  
The group began making it's way towards the sound. Once there, they found that it was being made by a frightfully large beast with horns. It was suspended from the treetops above, and was being attacked by viscious little people bearing sticks that seemed to have some sort of creature on the end. Everytime they touched the beast, the creatures on the sticks would bite savagely into him with their many razor-sharp teeth.  
  
"Ouch," Electra said.  
  
"Well, let's help him," Backslash said. He stepped into the clearing.  
  
"Hey! Let that....umn....thing...go!"  
  
The creatures ignored him. The tortured beast didn't seem to notice him either.  
  
"Hey! I said release him!"  
  
Still nothing. fed up, Backslash raised his Keytool.  
  
"Tech--Particle Beam."  
  
The Keytool fired a searing pulse of energy...which passed right through it's taget as though he were nothing but smoke. Backslash blinked. "Huh?" he said helpfully.  
  
Just then, a rock flew into the clearing from the side, striking one of the torturers square on the helmet. The force of the impact swung the helmet around, effectively obscuring his vision. Blinded, he ran into the thing closest to him....another torturer. They collided, and their biting sticks came into play. The small people screamed in pain as their own weapons bit them. More rocks flew into the clearing, turning more helmets. In moments, the morale of the torturing goblins faded and they ran, still screaming.  
  
A young girl of about 1.5 entered the clearing. She took absolutely no notice of Backslash, but severed the ropes holding the beast. He fell to the ground, but immediately got back up and looked curiously at the girl. The girl made motions to the creature....for some reason, Users in Games never talked, except for a few innane catch phrases....and the beast seemed to understand them. The two walked off together.  
  
Kit and Electra walked into the clearing.  
  
"Why didn't Tech work, Backie?"  
  
Backslash considered. "Oh...duh. It's because I'm not Rebooted. I'm not a viable Player." He turned on Kit. "I've got a better question. Why didn't you two back me up? We could have stopped the User and ended the Game."  
  
Kit didn't have a face in this form, but she still managed to look a bit embarrassed. "I...kinda felt sorry for that...creature. And it was nice of the girl to get it down."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me," Backslash said. "To the User, helping that thing meant no more than grabbing a coin or a powerup."  
  
"Well, then, why didn't YOU Reboot and take care of it?" Electra asked.  
  
"Umm...because I didn't realize that that was the User, at first," Backslash admitted. "I was expecting the usual...claws, teeth, spikey things...not a cute teenaged girl in a dress."  
  
"Well, we know now. Let's get after her."  
  
The group traveled as quickly as they could manage (which wasn't fast, considering their current forms), and tried to catch up to the User.  
  
* * *  
  
The Present.....  
  
Dot ran the User on a merry chase through the tomb, trying her best to stop him, but he made it back to the scroll chamber despite her best efforts. Well, she'd have to stop him here.  
  
The User stared her down. He was the typical Hero-Adventurer Avatar, with an appearance designed to make him look as rough and handsom as possible. Dot wasn't impressed. Maybe one day the people who made that sort of thing would realize that no one really was. The User attacked. Dot defended herself, and quickly came out on top. She picked him up and began to drain his life force, an ability inherent to her avatar, but before she drained anough to take him down, he pulled out a talisman and held it up to her forehead. There was a bright flash, and her attack was reversed: her life force went to him, rather than the other way around. Helpless, she fell to the floor, and the User made his way towards the scroll.  
  
Moments before he touched his goal, the sarcophagus directly behind him opened. A bandaged Mummy with a red headdress stepped out and accosted the User, utilizing the same attack Dot had. The User, not having another talisman, was drained of his youth in an instant.  
  
"Game Over...."  
  
Immediately, the Game shot back into the sky. here, where the mummy who had saved the day had been, stood...  
  
"Hex?"  
  
Hexadecimal's aspect had changed completely. Her dress was now a pure snowy white, her skin a vibrant gold. She no longer had a mask, simply a white face. Her snakelike tiara had been replaced by a simple row of short, strait spikes. "Oh, my goodness," Hex said, evidently looking at herself for the first time.  
  
Dot helped Bob to his feet. "Hex, I need your help."  
  
"You? Need MY help?" Hex asked, either puzzled, incredulous, or both.  
  
"I need you to take Bob to the portal generator."  
  
Hex linked her arm with Bob's and closed her eyes. Nothing happened Dot didn't have time for this. "Hex, I know we have our differences, but I need you to do this for me!"  
  
"But..I just tried, and we're still here...and I can't fly. Dot. I've lost my powers; How do I get him there?"  
  
* * *  
  
Matrix and AndrAIa soared through the sky on their cycles, hoping to stop the Guardians from taking this System. The situation, however, soon revealed itself to be a trap. The port to Net closed, leaving them stuck in the System until Bob portaled them out... and the portal was running late. Meanwhile, a Guardian task force was attacking them.  
  
Sneaking into a nearby armory and donning Exoskeleton Suits, Matrix and AndrAIa began to fight off the Guardians. One stepped foreward and removed his helmet.  
  
"Turbo!" Matrix said. He reached foreward and scooped up the former Prime Guardian and began to interrogate him, as AndrAIa held off the remaining Guardians.  
  
* * *  
  
"Lock on to Turbo's Icon," Daemon said. "Send a Zoom Room before someone is deleted."  
  
* * *  
  
AndrAIa's sharp eyes spotted the descending Zoom Room, about to fall directly where Matrix was standing. At that same moment, the portal finally opened, right next to him. AndrAIa tackled Matrix, knocking him and turbo into the portal....but in the process, she placed herself directly in the Zoom Room's path. The zoom Room rocketed back up into the sky, just as the portal closed.  
  
"No!" Matrix yelled. "AndrAIa!"  
  
But it was too late....she was gone.  
  
* * *  
  
The Zoom Room landed in the middle of Daemon's throne room, and immediately vanished back into the sky. AndrAIa, in her ExoSuit, was left standing before Daemon. The small blue SuperVirus barely reached the exoSuit's ankle.  
  
"AndrAIa," Daemon said, in her heavy French accent. "Welcome."  
  
AndrAIa screamed and brought down the fist of her Exoskeleton Suit squarely on the small sprite...who halted the massive fist with no more than her finger. Instantly, coils of Viral energy snaked up the arm of the suit, infecting the Game Sprite. AndrAIa dropped from the suit's cockpit and bowed.  
  
"My Lady," she said.  
  
* * *  
  
The heavy bars of the cell slammed shut, sealing Turbo inside.  
  
"There," Mouse said. "That oughtta hold 'im."  
  
"For a while. Yes," Turbo replied, oddly serene. He smiled.  
  
"I hate the way he keeps smilin' at us," Mouse said to the binome guarding the cell.  
  
"I have heard the Word. I am at peace." Turbo looked directly into Mouse's eyes. "Ray has heard the word, too, Mouse."  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"The Surfer. He waits for you with my Lady. All you have to do is drop the firewall and he'll fly into your arms."  
  
Dot and Bob approached, and Mouse immediately turned on them. "Daemon's got Ray."  
  
"You've only got his word on that," Dot answered.  
  
"And AndrAIa?"  
  
"Mouse, this isn't the time, we have to talk to Turbo now!"  
  
Mouse stormed off.  
  
Bob and Dot talked to Turbo, and of course, his self-righteous attitude went too far.  
  
"Enough," Dot said. "Do it, Bob."  
  
Bob stood directly in front of the cell, closed his eyes and concentrated. A narrow beam of golden light shot forth from his Icon, slamming Turbo up against the wall. Turbo screamed as the purity of the Guardian protocols began to purge Daemon's infection.  
  
"No! My Lady! The Word!"  
  
Bob faltered, and Turbo fell to the floor.  
  
"Did it work? Is he cured?"  
  
"Not...entirely," Turbo said. "but I can fight her infection now."  
  
"Why does Daemon want Bob?"  
  
"As Daemon's infection grew....Keytools left us....just like the first time. Bob is now the only Guardian who can create portals. And she'll get him...any way she can."  
  
* * *  
  
Backslash glanced about wearily as he followed Kiren down the streets of System Acer.  
  
"Where are we going, exactly?" he asked.  
  
"Somewhere where we can get some info," Kiren replied.  
  
As they came to an interesection, Kiren stopped short and glanced up and down the street. "Ah, there we go." Kiren pointed with his Biomechanical arm to one of the buildings that lined the filthy street.  
  
"A bar? How's that going to help?"  
  
"Ever seen a western?"  
  
"You're telling me we're just going to slip the bartender a few credits and ask if he's seen Lore?"  
  
"Yep. C'mon." Kiren slithered towards the bar on his sepentine tail. Backslash followed, but, not having a tail, he was forced to use his feet instead.  
  
The bar was practically deserted. What few customers there were looked pretty shabby, the decorum more so. Behind the bar stood a burly sprite that looked as though he could have used Matrix as a toothpick.  
  
"You coming? Or would you rather wait here?" Kiren asked.  
  
"Coming," Backie said, following the Squid up to the bar. Backslash sat down, but the barstools couldn't accomadate Kiren, so he stood.  
  
"Hey, there," The bartender said, sounding a good deal more friendly than he looked. "Ain't seen you around before. New in town?"  
  
"Yep," Kiren answered. "Not staying long, either. Just looking for an old friend, heard he was here."  
  
"He's new here, too. Maybe you've seen him," Backslash chimed in. The bartender shifted his gaze from Kiren to backie, and his gaze narrowed slightly. Backslash continued: "Black clothes, black mask, wings-"  
  
"Name o' Lore, completely out of his mind?" the bartender asked gruffly.  
  
"You've seen him around then?" Kiren asked. "Can you tell us where to find him?"  
  
"I COULD....," The bartended drawled, rubbing his thumb and his forefingers together.  
  
Kiren slipped him a ten-unit coin.  
  
"Gettin' there."  
  
A second coin joined the first.  
  
"That'll do. The Nutter's been staying up on the north side o' town, he made this tower-lookin' thing out of trash and stuff. He packs quite a bit o' firepower, if you're after him for somethin', ya better watch yer step. Say, whatcha want with him, anyway?"  
  
"He owes us money," Kiren said shortly.  
  
"Ah, well. Business is business." The bartender looked around once, then beckoned Kiren to lean in a bit closer. "Don't think I can't see whatcher up to, pal," he muttered. "That buddy o' yers is a Guardian, plain as day. Now, I ain't got nothin' against that sort, unless they mean to start trouble in my bar, and I sure ain't gonna point it out, mostly cause I don't wanna hafta clean up all the blood afterwards. But I gotta tell ya, be a bit more careful. You can still see 'is boots, and 'is gloves, and those are Guardian standard issue, and that bulge on his wrist is definitely one o' them gadgets his kind uses. Now, most o' the folk in this town are like them-" the Bartended jerked his head over at the customers at the other end of the bar. "They're not too bright, you can sucker them easy as anything. And most of the smarter ones don' care 'bout anythin' but their own selves. But there are a few who'd blow the whistle on ya just fer fun, so watch it. If you go an' get yerselves caught, and they find out you was in here, I could get into some serious slag, ya know?"  
  
Kiren nodded. "I understand. We hope to be out of town before anyone catches on."  
  
"Well," the bartender said, straitening up. "If that's all ya want...."  
  
"Yep. We'll be on our way. Thanks."  
  
"No problem. Oh, and the name's Java. If yer ever in town, and ya need anything, I can git it for ya....fer a price, o' course." Java grinned.  
  
"Of course," Kiren said, returning the smile. Then, Backslash in tow, he headed for the door.  
  
* * *  
  
"She's a WHAT?"  
  
"A Sprite," Phong replied.  
  
"Not a Virus?" Dot asked, not quite understanding.  
  
"No."  
  
Hexadecimal stood at the back of the room, not listening to a word the two other Sprites were saying. Her finger was tracing patterns on the wall of a large glass tank, and the Nulls inside were following her finger.  
  
"Why not?" Dot asked. "What's changed?"  
  
Phong cued up a Vidwindow, showing three distinctly different Hexes...one that looked the way she had at first, another that showed her after Megabyte's reconstruction and Bob's defragmentation, and a third, that showed her as she now was. "After the convergance that created Daemon 2.0, Hexadecimal was thought merely to be returned to her original state. However, it seems that she is suffering from an instability of her Code. It is perhaps no coincidence that this occured just as Jareth began to feel the effects of the merger. I belive it to be a delayed but inevitable symptom. She tried to use the Nulls to pretect herself...."  
  
"But the Nulls fled when the Game landed."  
  
"And Presto! New Hex."  
  
"So....this is permanent?"  
  
"Not neccesarily. Just as Jareth can be restored if he recombines with Lore, Hexadecimal can be restored if she recombines with that which she lost....an extremely high level of energy. However, perhaps it is best if she remains as she is....a Sprite."  
  
"Better a Sprite than a Virus," Dot agreed. She glanced back at Hex...and realized what she was doing. "I thought you said you'd lost ALL your powers?"  
  
"I have."  
  
"Then....how are you doing that?"  
  
Hex didn't seem to be paying much attention, but Dot came to an immediate decision.  
  
"Come on." Dot grabbed Hex by the hand and dragged her from the room, almost knocking Bob over as he walked through the door.  
  
"Hi, Dot-"  
  
"Bob, where's your car?"  
  
"It's right outside, but.."  
  
"We're borrowing it."  
  
A vidwindow appeared from nowhere. Matrix and Mouse, both having a determined expression on their faces, stared at Dot.  
  
"We have to talk," Matrix said.  
  
"Not now," Dot said, closing the window and cutting her brother off. The Vidwindow immediately returned, this time displaying Specky. "Dot, Ma'am.."  
  
"Not NOW, Specky!" Dot closed the window again, and rushed out the door.  
  
Phong looked up at Bob. "Well. Just slip out of your uniform and hop up on the scanner. I'll be with you in a nano."  
  
"Oh..but, Phong, that's really not.."  
  
"On the scanner! Is Doctor's Orders!"  
  
* * *  
  
Electra walked back into the room, carrying a tray of food. Jareth had refused to tell another word of the story until she brought him something to eat. She wanted to know how it ended, so she had no choice but to go fetch food. After all, she HAD agreed. When she got back to the infirmary, Jareth was missing.  
  
"Jareth?"  
  
"Over here!" Electra looked, and there Jareth was, getting a soda out of a nearby dispenser, acting for all the world as though he WASN'T about to suffer spontaneous deletion. "What are you doing out of bed?"  
  
"Getting a soda," Jareth said, simply.  
  
"Get back on that cot! You want to make yourself worse?"  
  
"I won't make myself worse. I'm perfectly normal between atttacks, you know that."  
  
"And what if you were to have an attack right now? You'd fall and bash your head open, that's definitly not good for you."  
  
"Calm down, MOTHER. Look." Jareth held out his arm, where Shark sat on his Bracer. The Keytool's emerald green screen was displaying a digital timer, the numbers slowly ticking down. "I had Shark do an analysis of my vital stats, predict the attacks, and give a continuous countdown. I'll know exactly when to lie down, so relax." Now Jareth spied the tray. "Ooh...whatcha bring me?"  
  
Electra sighed and passed him the tray. Jareth began ravenously consuming the food, eating, as he always did, as though he hadn't in seconds. "So...you going to keep telling the story? Or not?"  
  
"Oh....all right."  
  
* * *  
  
The Past.....  
  
  
  
"Some maze," Jareth said. "There aren't any turns in sight. This tunnel just seems to keep on going strait, on and on. Very irritating."  
  
"Jareth, where is your Icon?" RAM asked, obviously trying to keep the note of suspicion out of his voice.  
  
"I don't have one."  
  
RAM stopped short, aiming his Keytool at Jareth again. "That's what I thought. You're a Virus, aren't you?"  
  
"A Virus?" Jareth blinked. "No."  
  
"No? You certainly don't look or act like any Sprite I've ever seen. No icon, off-white skin, And you saved that Virus over there..." RAM gestured to Timey, who had continued walking, oblivious.  
  
"What's your point?"  
  
"What is your format?"  
  
Jareth sighed. It looked like there was no avoiding it... "I'm a--"  
  
"Hey!" Timesprite called. "Are you two coming, or not?"  
  
"Not, Virus. Until I get some answers."  
  
"Answers?" Timet drifted back to the others. "Answers about what?"  
  
RAM turned his gaze back to Jareth. "What is your format, Jareth?"  
  
"He's a User!" Timesprite chimed in happily.  
  
Of all the answers RAM wasn't expecting, he wasn't expecting that one the most.  
  
"Huh?" he asked intelligently.  
  
"He's a User," Timesprite said. "And he's the nicest one I've ever met. Actually," she said, contemplating. "he's the only one I've ever met."  
  
"YOU'RE the User?" RAM asked, incredulous.  
  
"No, just A User. We come in six-packs."  
  
"What?"  
  
Jareth sighed. "Yes, I'm a User. Not the User that we need to defeat to win this Game, but a User. Now, can we get on with it?"  
  
RAM seemed absolutely dumbfounded. It made sense that he was confused, when Jareth considered it....In the Guardian's experience, Users were nothing but Game Avatars, limited to a total of perhaps three words, and something that had to be defeated for the good of the Net, while Jareth spoke perfectly intelligibly (well, most of the time) and seemed to want to win the Game as much as he did.  
  
"Look, I know it's complicated, but all I want to do if find my friends, win the game, and go home, not neccesarily in that order. Can you accept that?"  
  
"I....Yes. I suppose I can." RAM still looked like you could knock him over just by blowing hard enough, but at least he'd lowered the Keytool.  
  
"Now. What should we do from here?"  
  
"Ask the turtle," Timesprite said.  
  
"What?" Jareth and RAM said, almost simultaneously.  
  
Timesprite pointed, and there, right where it hadn't been before, was a massive turtle shell, sitting into a recess in the wall of the corridor.  
  
"Umm....okay," Jareth said. he walked over and rapped on the shell with his knuckles.  
  
"Sakes alive, Old Woman, we've got visitors," a muffled voice said. A wrinked, ancient-looking turtle's head popped out of the shell on an equally wrinkled and ancient-looking neck. "My goodness, Old Woman, it's a manfolk! We haven't seen one of thoe in eons, have we, Old Woman?"  
  
Jareth glanced up and down the tunnel, but didn't see any old women of any sort. "Who are you talking to?" he asked the turtle.  
  
"We haven't talked with anyone is so long," the turtle replied, "we started talking to ourselves. Isn't that right, Old Woman?"  
  
"Oh. Well, can you tell us the way to the castle at the center of this maze?"  
  
"We certainly could, couldn't we, Old Woman? But we don't care enough."  
  
Jareth was satisfied with this, but RAM wasn't.  
  
"No?" RAM asked. "Why not?"  
  
"When you're as old as we are, things cease to matter. Nothing ever matters. Things just repeat. Day becomes night becomes day becomes night. Over and over. None of it matters, does it, Old Woman?"  
  
"Then you really aren't interested? In anything?" Timesprite asked.  
  
"We really aren't, are we, Old Woman? Nothing matters to us anymore."  
  
Jareth's face assumed a sly expression. "If nothing matters to you anymore," he said. "then you might as well tell us. Then we'd at least go away and let you be."  
  
The turtle blinked. "They should go left, then, shouldn't they, Old Woman?" With that, the turtle's head vanished into her shell.  
  
"Go left? What does she mean? There aren't any turns..." RAM let the sentence die as Jareth pointed to a side passage, which, of course, hadn't been there before.  
  
* * *  
  
The pile of Nulls wriggled and writhed, but showed no signs of sentience. For a moment, thay almost seemed to be trying to rear up into an upright form....but then they simple scattered. Hex sighed, lowering her arms. Hack and Slash bustled around behind them, trying to cach Nibbles, who was still on the run.  
  
"Dot, this isn't working," Hexadecimal said. "Why don't you give it up?"  
  
"Would you give up on your father?" Dot asked angrily.  
  
"I was born in the explosion that created Lost Angles. Explosion don't generally have the best parenting skills," Hex replied sharply.  
  
Dot cooled. "I'm sorry, Hex, it's just....what?"  
  
* * *  
  
Welman Matrix closed his briefcase and turned for the door, hoping it wasn't too late for him to evacuate the city. he should have left immediately upon hearing the evacuation order, but he couldn't leave all of his work behind, not when he had just discovered the cure for Nullification....  
  
Suddenly icy claws began to constrict around his throat. the hands holding him turned him, and he found himself staring into the coal-black eyes of a purple-skinned, green-haired Sprite.  
  
Welman never even had time to scream. The Virus began drawing data from him, and he could feel his flesh dissolving. His energy, with no code to give it shape, was instanly expended in a useless flash, leaving behind nothing but a small, green Null.  
  
Welman's code took the form of a small, glowing white sphere, whch the Virus brought up to eye level. Smiling, she teleported herself instaly to Mainframe's Core. Two Sprites lay behind a containment field, and they scramed and yelled at the Virus, and she made a few snide remarks in return. Holding Welman's code in her hand, the Virus proceeded to add her own code, and infuse it with energy from the Core, creating a humanoid form, two dark wngs spreading out behind it.  
  
Then, suddenly....she WAS.  
  
It was almost impossible to describe...suddenly, everything had a name. Daemon... Mother.... Lore... Megabyte... Mainframe....  
  
Hexadecimal.  
  
* * *  
  
"In a strange way, your father saved my life...or rather, GAVE me life." Hex looked into Dot's eyes. I'll try again....sister."  
  
Hexadecimal raised her white-clad arms, summoning again together the pile of writhing Nulls. For a moment, it looked as though this effort, too, would fail....but then Nibbles, pursued by Hack and Slash, raced headlong into the pile.  
  
Instantly, the shapeless heap began to take form. It twisted itself into a humanoid body, the green Null that was Nibbles forming the head.  
  
"Taa-daa!" Hex said.  
  
The Null creature looked at itself, apparenty trying to figure out what had happened.  
  
"....Dad?" Dot said, hesitantly. "You're back."  
  
"Yes....sort of. I've missed you so much."  
  
Dot moved to hug her long-lost father, but he raised a hand...erm, an appendage, and stopped her.  
  
"No! You cannot touch me. The Nulls...."  
  
"Oh, Dad....."  
  
* * *  
  
Just as Java said, there was, unmistakably, a tower made of garbage standing in the middle of the street.  
  
"Okay," Backslash said. "Now what?"  
  
Kiren reached his bionic arm into one of his belt pouches and pulled out a handful of small, round mechanical devices.  
  
"Remember these?"  
  
"Viral nuetralizers, right?" Backslash asked, taking the handful the Squid offered.  
  
"Yep. Mind you, I don't know how effective they'll be....Lore might not sit still to be hit by them again." For Kiren had used these same devices to stun Lore and Hexadecimal when they had threatened Phong, just after escaping the Supercomputer.  
  
"We'll just have to take him by surprise," Backslash said.  
  
"Can you get us in? Don't worry about Tech being detected. If this works, we'll be in and out before anyone has time to show up, and if it doesn't... then the System's forces are the last thing we need to worry about."  
  
Backslash nodded. Lore would be a far worse opponent than most of the things this system could dish out. The Guardian raised his arm, pushing back his sleeve to reveal his Keytool. "Tech--BS&P."  
  
A glowing, golden orb encased the two of them, and levitated into the air. Once it had reached the appropriate hieght, it shot across horizontally, phasing through the wall of the tower as though it were merely a hologram. The orb vanished, leving them standing on a landing on the second floor.  
  
"Nice work." Kiren said, seemingly a bit shaken. Apparently, he hadn't expected to simply enter through the wall. "Now, where can we find--"  
  
"Me?" an eerie voice called out. Both Gaurdian and squid spun around, and found themselves face to face with Lore, his emerald green eyes shining like two candles out of his polished black mask. There was a soft but sinister rustling as a large pair of black feathery wings unfurled behind him. Lore spread his fingers, and his fingernails elongated into black, razor-sharp talons.  
  
"It's quite rude to enter without knocking," Lore said.  
  
* * *  
  
The Past....  
  
  
  
At the end of the corridor, Jareth, RAM, and Tmesprite emerged into what appeared to be some sort of junkyard. Timesprite immediately flew off to inspect the junk for signs of interesting things, and Jareth was tempted to follow.  
  
Among other things, there were piles of armor and weapons, far too small for any of them but Timesprite to use, a lady (?) with a large bundle of garbage on her back, and a small peach tree that just happened to be growing in the middle of the path. Jareth took a peach and stuffed it into his pocket for later consumption, he'd aquired a taste for the food from this Game.  
  
Finally, thay came to the gates of the city. The Guards, as luck would have it, were asleep.  
  
Abruptly, Jareth reliazed what he was doing: Thinking like a User. Well, of course, he WAS a User, but he was playing the game from the other side now: He wasn't supposed to win, he was supposed to STOP the User from winning.  
  
"I guess we wait here," he said. "The User's bound to pass this way sooner or later."  
  
"What if she's already inside?" RAM asked.  
  
"Can't be. The gates are rusted shut. No one's been this way."  
  
RAM inspected the gates himself, confirming Jareth's observation. "Then I guess....we wait. ReBoot!"  
  
The Guardian double-clicked his Icon, transforming into a small, green-skinned person no taler than Timesprite, wearing battered armor and carrying a rusty, twisted old spear. RAM looked himself over. "What am I?"  
  
"I'd say a goblin," Jareth replied.  
  
"Great.  
  
* * *  
  
The Present....  
  
  
  
"Bob....I have been going over your scans."  
  
Bob sighed. "Merging with Glitch didn't work."  
  
"You know?" Phong asked, surprised.  
  
"Glitch was damaged. It had never been tried before."  
  
"Then you also know that continued use of your Glitch powers will lead to total fragmentation?"  
  
"But I'm a Guardian. I can't go against my Code."  
  
"If Dot knew, she would never allow..."  
  
"And that's why we're not gonna tell Dot."  
  
Suddenly an alarm rang out through the P.O.  
  
"What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
Phong checked his screens. "Bob....we're online."  
  
* * *  
  
The firewall opened, and Mouse's ship, Ship, flew through the opening. Mouse keyed in a few commands on her console, and the firewall closed once again, resealing the system behind them. Ship set it's course....for the Supercomputer.  
  
* * *  
  
"Mouse is outside the Firewall!" Phong said. He, Bob, Dot, and Welman were gathered in one of the Principal Office's conferance roms. Turbo was communicating with them from his cell via Vidwindow.  
  
"And she has all the encryption codes!" Dot added.  
  
"Mouse will never give the codes up to Daemon." Bob said.  
  
"Mouse will give up the codes if she's infected. She'll do it willingly. That's how the infection works," Turbo contradicted.  
  
"This is my fault," Dot said. I should have guessed Matrix would try something like this."  
  
'I can 'port after them. Bring them back," Bob offered.  
  
"That's not an option," Dot said. "Look. If anyone can pull this off, it's those two."  
  
"And if they can't find AndrAIa and Ray?" Turbo asked.  
  
"Matrix'll go for the Kill. He'll try to take out Daemon. He has a problem with Viruses."  
  
"That's putting it mildly," Bob quipped.  
  
"Bob, can you create a portal big enough to evacuate the entire city?"  
  
"No!" Phong shouted. Then, quickly regaining his composure, he continued: "No, that is beyond Bob's current power limits."  
  
"I thought so," Dot said. She turned to the Null-Monstrosity that was her father.  
  
"Dad...remember that old Gateway device you created?"  
  
* * *  
  
Matrix strode calmly into Daemon's Throne room. A single silhouetted female form stood in the center of the room, next to Daemon's throne. Matrix's eyes narrowed as he raised Gun. "Gun--Targetting. High Ex." A scarlet (V) appeared on the shadowed Sprite's forhead...but before he fired, she stepped out into the light.  
  
Matrix lowered the gun instantly. "AndrAIA!"  
  
The two lovers ran into each other's arms. Never had they been seperated for so long.  
  
"Sparky, there's someone you have to meet," AndrAIa said. She gestured to the ceiling.  
  
Matrix looked, and there, floating serenely in midair, was Daemon.  
  
"'Ello, Matrix. I 'ave 'eard so much about you."  
  
No hesitation this time, Matrix fired. The bullet flew across the room...but, as it neared the Supervirus, it slowed, the very air around it rippling. Finally, it grew near enough for Daemon to hold it in her hand...and it exploded. But no sooner had it done so than it reveresed, recreating itself from the shrapnel....and then Daemon blew it into dust.  
  
"Your weapons are useless 'ere." Daemon said. She floated down lower, and, before she hit the ground, Mouse appeared, katana in hand, slashing at the virus...and the blade of her weapon shattered like glass against stone.  
  
Daemon's feet touched the ground, and tendrils of corruptive energy snaked along the ground, touching Matrix and Mouse, infiltrating their codes instantly.  
  
Megabyte watched from the shadows as Daemon introduced herself to her new converts. His eyes narrowed as he recognized Matrix. There was no one to protect him this time, and being freshly pacified by the Word, he was in no shape to fight back. But no....now wasn't the time. Once Daemon penetrated Mainframe's defenses, then he'd be able to eliminate all of them at once. Bob, Dot...all of them. He smiled at the thought. Yes... best to wait...  
  
Megabyte doubled over in sudden pain. What had caused that? He raised a hand to steady himself....and froze. He could see right through it.  
  
* * *  
  
The Past......  
  
  
  
A low, throbbing roar echoed across the junkyard.  
  
"What the...," Jareth almost asked, looking out over the piles of scrap.  
  
Timesprite flew back down to his side. "It's the User!" The small green virus sounded more excited than anything else. "Only this time, she's got a bunch of critters following her."  
  
"Critters?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Game Sprites," RAM clarified, checking Splice's screen. The low rumbling sound came once again.  
  
"And one of them's doing that?"  
  
"It's some sort of attack," RAM said.  
  
Jareth felt something down by his feet. Looking down, he saw that a pebble had rolled against his shoe. Absently, he kicked it away....and did a double-take as the pebble changed course, turned around and headed right back for him. it lodged against his shoe again. Jareth lifted his foot, and it continued on it's way, right for the city gates. Other rocks, he saw, were rolling that way, too.  
  
"That sound comes from one of the Game Sprites following the User. It has the power to control--"  
  
"Rocks!" Jareth yelled, pointing. For there, rapidly approaching, was a veritable avalanche of boulders, rolling right for them....or, more accurately, for the city behind them.  
  
"The User's attacking the city..and we're right in it's way!" RAM said.  
  
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Jareth said, staring at the oncoming avalanche, as there was no way he could avoid it. "Now, how do we escape?"  
  
"I can help!" Timesprite said. "I can lift you over the rocks! Oh...but I don't think I can lift the two of you at once."  
  
"Take RAM," Jareth said.  
  
Timesprite moved towards him, but he flinched and backed away.  
  
Jareth rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. Grab my wrists, Timey. You can take me."  
  
"I can fend for mysef, anyway," RAM said. He raised his arm. "Splice--Rotor!"  
  
The three of them rose into the air...and not a moment too soon. The barrage of rolling rocks tore past beneath them, scattering the garbage of the junkyard as it raced towards the wall of the city. Alarms began blaring from the city. from their vantage point, Jareth, RAM and Timesprite could see the goblins scurrying to defend themselves. Catapults began appearing atop the walls, and bowmen could be seen on the battlements.  
  
Suddenly Jareth realized another problem. "Umm....if they fire those..."  
  
"They're going to hit us!" Timey finished. "What do we do? I dun think I can dodge carrying you..."  
  
"We'll just have to weather it through."  
  
Boulders were launched, arrows flew. Lucky as always, Jareth managed to avoid being hit by most of them. Suddenly, a boulder managed to find the right vector. It flew at them, and there was no way Timesprite would be able to dodge it in time...  
  
Suddenly, a blue-clad form whizzed out in front of them. With a sickening crunch, the large rock knocked him from the air, down into the maelstrom of tumbling stones below.  
  
"Was that...?"  
  
"Did he...?"  
  
Timesprite dropped lower, beneath the projectiles but above the slowing river of rock. There, beneath the last remaining fringe of pebbles, was the batterred body of RAM, lying flat on his back, unmistakably dead. His Reboot had failed, no longer was he a Guardian in the Guise of a Goblin. His face was bloody and beaten, his armor torn. Only the Keytool on his arm seemed undamaged, though it was blinking sadly. Timesprite dropped J and landed next to him. They looked down at the corpse. Jareth had always heard that Sprites vanished when they stopped processing, but apparently that didn't work in Games.  
  
"He saved us," Timesprite said. "I thought he hated us. Hated me. But he saved us."  
  
"That's what Guardians do. I guess he finally figured that out." Jareth made his customary mock-salute, for once in his life meaning it. "So long, RAM. It took you a while, but you finally came around. You were there when you were needed. Good job."  
  
"So....what do we do now?"  
  
The golden Icon on RAM's chest caught Jareth attention. He absently fingered the small, boxlike device in his pocket. Leaping to his decision, Jareth reached out and ripped the Icon free from Ram's armor and shoved it into the slot. As he hit the square, red button, the scratched Icon began to spin, more and more rapidly, until it couldn't be recognized. Tendrils of static electricity arced up Jareth's arm and into the device. Finally, the empty slot began to glow, brighter and brighter, and when the glow faded, there sat within it a shining, brand new Black and Gold Icon. Jareth took his new Icon and pinned it on his Chest, tapping it. In a flash of data, his torn, worn clothing was replaced by shining new  
  
Guardian body armor.  
  
RAM's Keytool gave a surprised sounding bleep, then, reaching a decision of it's own, flew up from RAM's bracer to Jareth's, settling in. Jareth glanced at it, grinning. "Now, Timey....we win."  
  
* * *  
  
The small, foxlike critter leapt aside as Kit's bullets struck the ground around it's feet. Every so often it darted foreward, striking Kit with the stick it carried. The stick was useless against Kit's cannonball-hard shell, but she couldn't seem to score any hits on it, either...it was too fast. They were at a stalemate.  
  
Electra was having a much better job of it. The dwarflike Game Sprite she stood against was completely unarmed, and, on top of that, quite the  
  
coward. He was a little faster than she was, though, so she had to chase him around, trying to get him to sit still long enough to hit.  
  
Unfortunately, this left the largest and worst of the Game Sprites that accompanied the User....the large, horned, hairy beast that she had helped down from the ropes earlier in the Game. Backslash stood boldly before it, an easy thing to do since it couldn't yet see him. He raised his hand to his Icon. "Reboot!"  
  
In a flash, Backie found himself....sitting in a very small room? He had been turned into a similar creature to Electra, but was surrounded on all sides by complicated but antiquated-looking machinery. Knobs, levers, and buttons were all around him. Suddenly, he realized... he was in a cockpit. More accurately, he was in the cockpit of a very large, humanoid robot with an axe.  
  
(Hold it. How come you're suddenly telling the story from Backie's point of view?)  
  
(Variety, Featherhead. Now pipe down.)  
  
Backslash grinned. "I can live with this," he said. Moving the appropriate levers, he brouth his axe down on the monstrous Game Sprite... but missed. Either the beast was faster than he looked, or he hadn't gotten the hang of these controls yet. The beast roared, but Backie ignored it, and brought his axe up to strike again...and had to clutch the sides of his chamber as the Robot was slammed from behind. Spinning, Backslash saw that he'd been struck by a large rock. Now, how had that happened? He turned back to the monster and struck again with the axe, this time slicing the monster clean in two. The two halves pixelized as they hit the ground, vanishing. Backslash then turned to the dwarf that Electra was chasing, and stomped it flat. It, too, pixelized into nothingness. This was easy! He should have rebooted as soon as he'd gotten free of that tunnel. If only he'd known he'd get to drive this!  
  
Finally, he turned to the fox that Kit had been wasting her ammo on....and couldn't find it. He turned, hoping to spot it. Kit was yelling something, but he couldn't hear her, the machinery of his robot was too loud. Suddenly, he felt a sharp rap on the head.  
  
"Oww!" Spinning, this time in his seat, he saw that the fox had managed to scurry up his robot and somehow gotten into the cockpit. Backie raised his Keytool, but before he could call out a command, the fox began to lay about him with his stick, smashing everything within reach. This, unfortunately, included the controls of the robot. Sparks began shooting from the panels, bulbs broke, steam poured from broken pipes. Red lights began flashing. Backie leapt free from the cockpit, falling the long way to the ground outside the bot.  
  
Most people supposed that smaller things felt more impact upon hitting the ground, since it a longer way down for them, but this was not necessarily the case. Smaller things had less mass, and so built up much less velocity during a fall. Nonetheless, Backie was stunned for a moment by the force of his impact with the ground. Backslash brushed himself off as he stood. Looking up, he saw the Fox's face glaring at him from the cockpit, red lights flashing around him. Noting that the lights were flashing more and more quickly, Backslash backed away....and then the cockpit exploded. The fox was incinerated, and the robot itself, the top half of it's torso missing, began to fall forward. Backie had to roll out of the way, lest the metal hulk crush him.  
  
"Phew." Backie said, as Kit and Electra waddled up to join him. Electra kicked side of the destroyed robot.  
  
"Cheap workmanship," she said.  
  
"I'll say," Backslash said. "That's the last time I pilot one of these things."  
  
"Did either of you see which was the User went?" Kit asked, in her mettalic-tinged voice.  
  
The three of them exchanged a look, then aimed that same look at the city in the distance. backslash glances at his Keytool. There were five minutes, Game Time, remaining on the clock....more than enough for the User to reach the city. Unless they stopped her. "We'd better catch up to her," Backie said. "Fast."  
  
* * *  
  
"Reboot!"  
  
Jareth examined himself. His hair had gone white, and now stuck out in all directions as though he'd used up three cans of hair spray. His clothing was black, billowy,and very confortable, almost like robes. Around his neck was a strange pendant, which looked like a cross between a claw and a set of horns, grafted into a triangle. "I can live with this," he said.  
  
Timesprite giggled. "You're wearing makeup," she said, pointing.  
  
Jareth blinked. "Shark--mirror," he said, holding up his arm. The keytool gave a surprised sounding bleep, and was idle for a moment. Jareth suddenly realized he'd called it by the wrong name, and was about to correct himself, when the Keytool rose up and changed into a small hand mirror. Apparently, it accepted the change.  
  
Jareth was indeed wearing makeup. "Huh. Well. At least it's tasteful."  
  
"Hey, look!" Timesprite pointed towards one of the decimated garbage piles. Stumbling down the trash heap came a slight female form, dark haired, about 15 years old by Jareth's estimation. The User? Well, if she was the User, it looked like it was up to him to stop her. The barrage of rocks had decimated the defenses of the city; that had clearly been the entire point. He and Timey were all that stood between them.He interposed himself between her and the City behind him. Now, how to stop her? He could just kill her, but if she had multiple lives... and if he remembered this game correctly, she did... then she'd just start the level over and the clock would be reset. But, if he could keep her occupied until she ran out of time, then the game would end for good. He glanced at his new Keytool, commanding it to give a readout of the time limit. Less than a minute...  
  
Jareth grinned. He could do that.  
  
Using the powers he'd aquired from his ReBoot, Jareth rose into the air and landed directly in front of the user. She screeched to a halt, staring at him in shock.  
  
Without preamble, Jareth swept her up in his arms and kissed her full on the lips. The User was either too surprised to react or was enjoying this too much....or both....but either way, the last of her time ticked away.  
  
"Game Over....."  
  
With a sound like a very strong wind, the Game Cube shot back up into the sky, leaving Jareth's arms empty.  
  
"Awww," he said.  
  
"Ahem."  
  
Jareth turned, and there, not far off, were Kit, Backslash and Electra, each with a distinct expression of curiosity, amusment and surprise on his or her face. Timesprite giggled.  
  
"I have to say, I've never heard anything about anyone winning a Game quite like THAT..." Backie said.  
  
"Why didn't you just marry the girl?" Electra asked, an unsettling expression on her face.  
  
"Nice outfit, by the way," Kit said. "Guardian armor actually suits you."  
  
Jareth looked down at himself, and made a note to dye the outfit black. No other color felt like home. Jareth, still examining his armor, found something in his pocket. Pulling it out, he discovered the peach he had picked inside the game. Somehow, it had managed to follow him. Jareth took a large bite. He was a bit hungry, and the Game food had turned out to be pretty good.  
  
"So are you going to explain this one?" Electra asked, seeming a bit sour about something. "How did you manage to go into a Game a User and come out a Guardian?"  
  
"I......" Jareth trailed off, his eyes going wide.  
  
"Jareth? You okay?" Kit asked.  
  
Jareth never even heard her.  
  
* * *  
  
The Present.....  
  
  
  
As the small, hovering crane lowered the final piece of Welman's gateway device into position, Enzo wound up for a pitch.  
  
"See if you can catch my fastball!"  
  
Welman's elastic arm caught it effortlessly. "You'll have to do better than that!" he called out in his distorted, wavering voice.  
  
Phong trundled up to the Null Monster. "How is Enzo taking your transformation?"  
  
"Well...."  
  
Enzo ran up to Phong. "Phong! Dad's a Null Monster now! It's So cool! he can change shapes and stuff!" The small sprite glanced over, "Hey, there's Frisket!" and was gone again.  
  
"Quite well, actually," Welman finished.  
  
A small craft flew overhead, deploying a number of small devices that surrounded the firewall-sealed opening to the net. As the activated, a second firewall covered the already existing one.  
  
"A second firewall! That should slow Mouse down. Clever girl."  
  
"Who, Dot?"  
  
"You should be very proud of her, Doppler."  
  
"Welman."  
  
"What?"  
  
"My name is Welman."  
  
"I apologize," Phong said. "I thought it was Doppler."  
  
"No," Welman replied. "Doppler's my middle name."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"I am proud of her. Enzo, too. He's grown up so much..."  
  
"Umm....there's something I should tell you about Enzo..or..or should I say Matrix?"  
  
* * *  
  
Events proceeded rapidly, as they usually do during times of war. The gateway devices was completed, and Dot revealed her true plan: not to evacuate the city, but to shatter daemon's cde and send it to every adress on the Net. One source, multiple destinations. A game fell, and, as a precaution, she sent Enzo in, along with hack, Slash, and Frisket, with instructions to lose, stay in the Games until he was as experienced as Matrix, then return and save them all. Daemon arrived, as was inevitable, but there turned out to be one signifigant flaw in Dot's plan: Daemon could and did infect them all simply by touching the ground. Hexadecimal she sent hurtling into the wall, the rest she brought to the roof of the P.O., where she had Bob stabilize portals to all the systems she'd not yet infected. The Game left, but Enzo did not leave with it....he'd found himself unable to abandon his friends and family when they needed him. While Slash flew up to stall Daemon, Enzo, Hack, and Frisket confronted the infected Matrix and AndrAIa. Reminding Matrix of his deep hatred of all things Viral, Enzo convinced him to change his icon from Game Sprite mode to normal...and discovered something important: A clean Guardian Code could dispel Daemon's infection. After (reluctantly) curing Hexadecimal, the group moved on the the P.O's war Room, where they met up with Jareth and Electra, who'd been shielded from infection by the Principal Office's shields. Watching Daemon's activity on the monitors, Hexadecimal became enraged by the Supervirus' treatment of Bob. She stormed off angrily, headed for the Core. Daemon, her work done, lowered everyone back to the ground outside the P.O. Bob fell to the ground, spent, his skin flickering transparent. Dot ran to him.  
  
"Do not worry," Daemon said. "Soon ze word will bring peace to ze Net. Nothing can stop zat now."  
  
"Get away from my Sprite!"  
  
An abrupt blast of crimson energy caught Daemon completely off guard, knocking her a great distance, clear through the wall of a nearby building. Looking to find it's source, everyone present was shocked to see Hexadecimal, in all her viral glory, her face in ferocious vamp-mode, cackling insanely.  
  
* * *  
  
Daemon strode angrily from the hole in the wall she'd created, glaring about searching for her attacker. She had just enough time to register a look of shock before she was hit again, this time as Hex dive-bombed her from her left. The two powerful viruses grappled as they flew, Daemon's feet tearing a great furrow in the concrete as she was forced back. Daemon countered Hex's strike with a powerful left hook, sending the black-and-red virus hurtling through the air. remembering she could fly, Hex spun about midair and dove again, this time Sending Daemon hurtling through a plate glass windows, injuring a few binomes and frightening countless others.  
  
Taking to the air herself, Daemon fired a blast of turqoise energy, knocking Hex for a loop and sending her into a tailspin. Hex recovered and tried another dive, but this time Daemon was ready. With another punch, she sent Hexadecimal flying.  
  
With a sickening crunch, Hex hit the concrete just outside the P.O. Daemon drifted down next to her.  
  
Hex picked herself up. "Now, You're REALLY starting to annoy me...."  
  
"Why are we fighting? You are a Virus. We should be friends."  
  
"Friends? Friends?!" Hexadecimal spun about and fired again, this time catching Daemon in the stomach. The supervirus doubled over, winded.  
  
And then it happened.  
  
The final grain of sand in the hourglass that hung from Daemon's neck fell. The lower triangle of the matching hourglasses on her arms shone a viral green, and her eyes fell closed as though she were going into a trance.  
  
Straitening, she spoke: "I am Daemon. I am not an entitiy, I am a Time. My Time...is now. The Word....is Called."  
  
"No..." Bob said weakly. "Not a Cron Virus...."  
  
Daemon exploded. Her energy spread in waves, first through Mainframe, then through the rest of the Net, so quickly it was almost absurd. As it passed, the Sprites and Binomes Daemon had infected began chanting in it's wake.  
  
"111100.....111011....."  
  
"I've seen this before!" AndrAIa said, for Daemon had done the same thing to Daecon after he'd failed to breach Mouse's Firewall.  
  
Bob struggled to speak. "Dot...Cron Virus...total crash...."  
  
Bob was suddenly ripped from Dot's arms.  
  
"Get away from him!" Hex cried. She began dancing with Bob as though he were a puppet.  
  
"Hex...what are you doing?"  
  
"Don't worry my love...I will care for you and make you well, and then you will love me as I love you...." Hex switched to her viscous mask. "Totally!"  
  
Dot ran over and grabbed her arm. "Get off him!"  
  
Hex blasted her away with a single backhanded swipe, but Matrix caught her before she hit anything.  
  
"I knew this was a bad idea," he said.  
  
"Hex....you're ill again..."  
  
"Ill? But I've never felt so alive! The power! I have the entire power of the Core, surging through me! Nothing can hurt me...or you...now."  
  
"You're wrong, Hex. Daemon's Infection....when the countdown hits zero...total crash..."  
  
"Ohhh...how will our love survive?" Hex asked, switching to her sad tear-faced mask.  
  
"It won't Hex. Nothing will. I'm sorry."  
  
"Well, that's just not good enough," Hex said simply. She turned almost angrily on Phong and Welman, who were standing next to the Gateway device. "You! Stop this thing!"  
  
"There is nothing we can do!" Phong cried. "We have a cure, but there is no way to administer it in time!"  
  
"Well...," Welman said thoughtfully, "The only thing that could spread through the Net fast enough would be a benign Virus."  
  
"A Virus to cure, brillient!" Phong replied. Then he stopped. "Oh, dear..."  
  
"What? What's the problem? We've got a Virus, me. Just give me the cure, and I'll fix everything."  
  
"Hex," Bob said. "You won't survive this. It's a one way trip. Total....fragmentation."  
  
"But you WILL survive," Hexadecimal said, reaching a decision. She set Bob down gently.....then flew with blinding speed to Matrix, snatched his Icon, and knocked him down. There was a bright flash from the Icon as Hexadecimal copied his code and stored it within her own. "Virus hater!" she growled, then, in a sickeningly sweet tone, "Learn from this."  
  
Hexadecimal dropped the Icon and raised her hand at Welman, who walked up to the control panel, unable to stop himself.  
  
"She is controlling me!" he cried.  
  
The Virus strode towards the Gateway, but Enzo approached her. "Hex....stop. I don't want you to go."  
  
"I adore children," she said, smiling at him, using a line from a joke she'd told earlier.  
  
"But you could never eat a whole one," Enzo replied, giving the punch line, although a bit nervously.  
  
Hexadecimal leaned in menacingly, switching to a fierce mask...but switched back just as quickly. "Still only joking! Here, young Guardian," she said, touching his Icon. Her colors, Red and Black, spread across the Icon. "A gift. So you don't turn out like HIM." Hex jerked her head at Matrix. Rising to her feet, Hex took the few remaining steps to the gateway. Pausing, she turned to Bob, who was supported by a worried-looking Dot. "Bob, I have always loved you. Dot...take care of him....and....Be happy." She turned to Welman. "NOW!" she cried.  
  
Welman's Null-hand came down on the Send button. Hexadecimal was pixelized and drawn into the vortex. Welman, without Hex's power to maintain him, shattered into his basic components: a pile of mindless Nulls. Hexadecimal's data, manifesting as a collection of masks, carried the cure all throughout the net. The binomes and sprites stopped chanting their deadly countdown as the last remnants of Daemon's infection were dispelled.  
  
* * *  
  
As Dot helped Bob to his feet, a shining silver orb appeared, and two figure stepped out....Backslash and Kiren, both looking very tired and battered, carrying between them the unconscious Lore.  
  
"So," Backslash said looking around, "What'd we miss?" 


	11. Water's Fall

The Viral Guardian Series  
  
Chapter 10: Water's Fall  
  
  
  
Electra gazed sadly at the entrance to the Principal Office as Jareth strolled out, Viral once more. She'd just gotten him back, and now she'd gone and lost him again. Oh, well. Better an infected Jareth than no Jareth.  
  
With a sigh, Electra turned and headed for her home. Once, she'd been able to fly effortlessly, or even teleport and be home instantly. But those powers had vanished along with her viral codes.   
  
Though she could no longer teleport, the trip home seemed to pass in an instant anyway. She keyed open the door and strolled inside, looking around at all her possessions. Her eyes fell on the mantle: a picture of her and Jareth, taken at one of her birthday parties. Next to it, a golden mask, the one Daemon had created to replace Lore after Jareth corrupted him. It was that mask that had given her her powers to begin with....could it do so again? Last time, she'd been doused in some unknown chemical, and furthermore, her code had been mixed with viral programming taken from Jareth. She was an ordinary Sprite now...would it still work? Daemon had been about to use it on Turbo, and there was nothing viral about him, so maybe....  
  
Electra siezed the mask from it's stand on the mantle and rose it to her face. Nothing happened.  
  
Disgusted, Electra tossed the useless mask into the corner. Just her luck, the mask had been a single-use item. Oh, well. Maybe she could still get used to being normal again. After all, she'd been an ordinary Sprite most of her life. And it wasn't as if she had nothing. She still had her Keytool.   
  
So quickly that she couldn't even think of reacting, silver tentacles snaked around her, binding her ankles, her arms at the elbow, and wrapping around her throat, restricting her air supply.   
  
The three sleek, golden claws entered her from behind, tearing through her vital internal organs and emerging from her stomach. Shocked, Electra brought her hand to the wound, only to lacerate her fingers as well. She stared at the energy, disbelieveing, her fingers gradually going out of focus. With a shock just as wrenching as the first, the claws retracted, prompting a new welling of still more liquid energy. The tentacles withdrew, Electra collapsed, her energy spreading in a pool around her, staining the floor.   
  
Megabyte smiled. The green viral skull on his chest was now rough and ragged-looking, his fingers themselves were now the razor-sharp claws. He was larger now, and everything about him seemed more imposing. Like Jareth and Hexadecimal, he, too, had been altered by the merger that had re-created Daemon.   
  
The Virus leaned down and picked up the mask from where Electra had dropped it. It had struck the side of the stone fireplace, and deep cracks now ran all across it's surface, viscous blue energy leaking from each fissure. he looked from the mask to Electra, and, smiling sadistically, closed his fist, crushing the golden mask to fragments, letting them fall to the ground.  
  
Her eyes blurring and her head light from loss of energy, Electra struggled to aim her Keytool. "BuBBleJet--Help."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Hexadecimal was gone.   
  
Jareth sat in the spiderlike throne that his sister had once occupied, trying to come to terms with this fact. Gone. He'd never see her again. Mainframe was certain to get much more boring, now that she was no longer there. Not there. Not anymore. Gone. Well, one thing was clear: someone had to fill her shoes. Figuratively, of course, Jareth never could have fit into her stilletos, even if they hadn't been scattered along with the rest of her to the four corners of the Net. Did the net actually have four corners? That's what everyone said, but....  
  
Jareth sighed. Even answering his own intruiging internal thoughts had lost it's appeal. It was as if his life had been a TV show, and that show was now no longer worth watching. Not without Hex.  
  
A small object flew in through one of the Lair's windows, emitting loud bleeping noises. Jareth squinted at it. It was a Keytool, but not one he recognized. It's screen seemed divided down the center by a wavy line, just like Phong's Icon. The icon flew to him, and, to his surprise, settled on his right Bracer. His left bracer was already occupied, of course, by his own Keytool, Shark.  
  
"Hello," Jareth said to the new Keytool. "What's your name?"  
  
The Keytool didn't respond. It's screen glowed a depressing deep blue, as though it were sad about something, but it wouldn't talk to him the way Shark did on occasion. Oh, well...If it wanted to sit there and decorate his bracer, that was fine by him. It was pretty enough, and it did match his other one.  
  
With a shrug and a sigh, the Viral Guardian rolled up his sleeve and put his head in his hands. He didn't manage to get much sulking done, however, before a VidWindow popped up alarmingly, as VidWindows are prone to do.  
  
Electra had looked better, he decided.  
  
* * *  
  
"Are you certain, my child?"  
  
"Yes, Phong. It was Megabyte who did this." Electra winced as the medical droid wound the bandage still tighter around her midsection.  
  
"You were very lucky, My Child. His claws just barely missed hitting anything vital."  
  
"Sure didn't feel like it."  
  
"You have lost a great deal of energy," Phong continued, "but You should make a full recovery."  
  
Phong turned to Jareth, who was standing alongside the medical platform on which Electra lay. "Are you the one who drove him off, my son?"  
  
"Hmm? No, he was already gone by the time I got there. Just 'Lectra, lying in a pool of her own blood. Energy. Whatever."  
  
"This is most peculiar. Why would a Virus attack, only to retreat from a dying victim?" The Medical droid, it's work done, retreated into it's alcove in the wall.  
  
Jareth's mask switched to a curious expression. "'Lectra? Where are your Keytools?"  
  
"My Keytools?" Electra rose her arms, but both bracers were bare. "Umm....."  
  
"That must have been what he was after!" Phong exclaimed. "But why?"  
  
"Maybe he wants to open a--"  
  
"A portal to the net, of course! But a keytool would never obey a Virus! And the last we knew, Megabyte was in the Supercomputer. From there, he could access as many systems as he could ever want! Why return to Mainframe at all?"  
  
Electra struggled to sit up. "Maybe he knew that Daemon would fail? Or at least suspected? After all, he's been up against Mainframe's defenses before. He knows how tough the defenders of this system are, even for a supervirus."  
  
"And he wouldn't have wanted to remain in the Supercomputer once the Guardians were free from Daemon's infection. Makes sense," Jareth replied.  
  
"We must find him, and retrieve BuBBle and Jet before Megabyte discovers a way to make use of their powers," Phong said. "If we fail, many systems will suffer."  
  
* * *  
  
Bob hovered in the sky above the Principal Office's ivory sphere, his polished chrome armor glinting in the daylight. His eyes were closed, and information from all over the System was pouring through his head. A small transfinite storage battery attached to his belt effectively eliminated the problem of draining his vital life force whenever he made use of his Keytool download....but it didn't seem to be helping his search.  
  
Matrix flew up on his Zipboard. "Any luck, Bob?"  
  
"None," Bob said, sounding worried. "The only Virals I can detect in the System are Jareth and Timesprite."  
  
"Any chance he's already left the System?"  
  
Bob shook his head. "Phong would have contacted me if any unauthorized portals had been opened. He must still be here....but where?"  
  
A VidWindow opened in midair before them. There stood Phong, loking exited, but not concerned. "Matrix, my son...it is the most marvelous thing! Young Enzo was reaching into your father's tank, and...look!" Phong turned the Vidwindow on his side so that it faced a large, clear container. This was the tank in which they had been housing Nibbles, the small green Null that was all that remained of Welman Matrix. The Null was now perched on top of the tank, with Enzo leaning against it and frisket at his feet. Enzo's Icon seemed to have returned to normal, losing the red, black, and gold coloration that Hexadecimal had given it before her sacrifice.  
  
The Null, despite not having eyes, seemed to look directly at Matrix.   
  
"Matrix!" it said, in the warbling voice Welman had used before, when he had been composed completely of Nulls. "I have returned!"  
  
* * *  
  
"It is done," Phong said, tightening the last bolt on the large, golden automaton. It had four fully functional limbs and a torso, all it lacked was a head.  
  
Wheeling over to the nearby desk, Phong gently picked up Welman the Null and placed him atop the mechanical body. The pliable Null assumed the form of a beaklike head, and began flexing his newfound limbs. "Thank you, old friend," Welman said, the circuits in the body stabilizing his speech so that it no longer warbled.  
  
"Any time," Phong replied.  
  
The doors slid open as Bob and Matrix strolled into the room.  
  
"Hey, dad! You look great," Matrix said.  
  
"Sorry, Phong. No sign of Megabyte anywhere in the System," Bob stated.   
  
Phong bowed his head. "These are truly dangerous times, but it is difficult to feel sorrow when an old friend has just been restored to us."  
  
The doors on the opposite side of the room slid open, and Electra entered, followed by Jareth.   
  
"We did a complete search of the principle office, Phong," Electra reported. "Keytool sweeps and everything. No sign of him."  
  
"Though I did find a keychain I lost back when I lived here," Jareth added irrelevantly. "Hey, who's the Null?"  
  
"Jareth, this is Welman Matrix," Phong replied. "Welman, this is--"  
  
"Dad! Nice to meet you at last," Jareth said, his mask switching to a grin.  
  
"Don't call him that!" Matrix glared.  
  
"I'm sorry?" Welman said, sounding a bit confused.  
  
"When Daemon took your code, she did so in order to create a series of Viral offspring," Phong explained. "Jareth here integrated his own code with that of one of those offspring. Therefore, you are, in a manner of speaking, his father."  
  
"I see. Well, then, it is a pleasure to meet you, Jareth." The mechanical limb shook hands with the Viral one.  
  
"This isn't the time for this," Matrix scowled. "We have a Virus on the loose, a dangerous one. We should be looking for--"  
  
Frisket's booming barks suddenly filled the room, and the large dog practically launched himself at Electra, fearsome jaws snapping, spittle flying. Matrix leapt forward just in time to grab the him by the collar and hold him back. As it was, the rows of teeth closed barely inches from Electra's face.  
  
"Woah! Frisket! What's gotten into you?"  
  
Electra took a large step back, looking quite worried, unsurprisingly.  
  
"He's never acted this way before. Not to you," Jareth said.  
  
"I know. I've known him for....for a long time...what do you think's wrong? Does he smell Megabyte on me?"  
  
"Maybe," Matrix said. "If that's what it is, then he can get a whiff and lead us to him."  
  
"Not if he eats me first!"   
  
"She's got a point, Matrix," Bob said.   
  
"Yeah, you're right. Frisket, down! Bad dog!"  
  
Frisket whimpered, but backed down. But his hackles still rose every time he looked at Electra.  
  
"Yeah, he definitely smells him on me," Electra said. Then she did a double-take. "Hey...what happened to his icon?"  
  
"We are not sure exactly what Lens did, but my research into the ways of Codemasters indicates that the reward they most often give to those who have rendered them useful service is a wish," Phong replied.  
  
"A wish?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Yes, a wish. The icon holds the wish until it is used. Naturally, the wish cannot accomplish anything that a Codemaster could not accomplish, but it remains a remarkable gift. However, now is hardly the time to discuss such things."  
  
"We need to find Megabyte," Bob agreed. "Matrix, can you have Friket identify his scent from Electra without tearing her apart?"  
  
"Sure. We've done it lots of times before. He's never acted quite like this, though. Except one time....but that was when a Virus was disguising itself as a Sprite named Powerlock. He...."  
  
Matrix broke off there, for Jareth was drawing a line across his neck. Jareth stopped abruptly when Electra, following Matrix's gaze, glanced back at him.  
  
"I have an idea," Jareth said. 'Lectra, why don't we go and see Delk? Maybe she'll have something we can use to track Megabyte down."  
  
Electra shrugged. "Sure, why not. I mean, it couldn't hurt, right?"  
  
Several things happened at once. Jareth switched to a satisfied smirk. Phong's mouth fell open, and he wheeled back a few feet. Matrix and Bob exchanged glances, aware that something signifigant had happened but not sure what it was. Frisket let out an angry bark.  
  
And Electra's entire bearing changed. "I see you've seen through my little act, Viral Guardian," Megabyte's voice said, coming from Electra's mouth, his inflection on Jareth's title making it sound like an insult. In a flash, the facade had been dropped, and Megabyte stood before them in all his Viral glory.  
  
"You've gotten taller," Jareth commented.  
  
Megabyte extended his tentacles and pinned Jareth to the wall. Matrix's Gun was in his hand, but with a single swipe of his arm, Megabyte knocked both him and Bob across the room, slamming them against the far wall.  
  
Megabyte turned his attention back to Jareth. "I suppose this 'Delk' went offline some time ago? Or perhaps never even existed? No matter. I found I rather enjoyed making the lovely Electra's deletion slow and painful. No doubt yours shall be--"  
  
Bob's blast of golden light blindsided Megabyte, knocking him away from Jareth, who slid to the floor, landing on his feet, a fireball forming in his left hand.   
  
"Come now, Bob," Megabyte said, rising to his feet. "It's quite rude of you to interrupt a private conversation."   
  
Matrix's gun was cocked, Bob's hands were raised, Jareth looked absolutely furious.  
  
"Three against one are hardly sporting odds, either," Megabyte added. Rearing back his head, Megabyte spit forth a cloud of noxious green mist that stung everyone's eyes, blinding all in the room.  
  
"Hey! That's cheating!" Jareth yelled.  
  
"He's a Virus!" Matrix retorted.   
  
Frisket let out a whimper.  
  
The mist cleared, gradually, and so did the vision of the Sprites in the room.  
  
"Whatever that was, it was very potent," Welman said. "It affected me, and I don't even have eyes."  
  
"How did he do that?" Jareth asked. "How did he turn into Electra? And what did he do with the real Electra?"  
  
"He said he deleted her," Bob said. "That explians why her Keytools were missing, he could never fool them. We were WAY off."  
  
"Electra....," Jareth said.  
  
"Oh, dear," Phong said. "Megabyte appears to have gained Trojan Horse abilities."  
  
"Worse yet," Welman said, "In the interim we were all blinded, he could have become any one of us."  
  
"Not so," Phong replied. "He could not have become YOU, Welman. Your body has no code, and therefore cannot be mimicked. You are the only person here who is above suspicion."  
  
"Which means, it's up to you to decide," Matrix said. "What do we do, dad?"  
  
"We find a failsafe way to unmask him. We know he is immune to our scans, And he is clearly an accomplished actor. The only mechanism that has successfully revealed him is--"  
  
"Frisket!" Matrix said, grinning. "Sniff him out, boy."  
  
Frisket lowered his nose to the ground and obediently began sniffing. After a moment, he crouched, his hackles raised and let out a low growl....directly at Bob.  
  
"Me?"  
  
Matrix raised his Gun, his (V) targetting lock directly over Bob's Icon. "The Jig is up, Megabyte. What have you done with the real Bob?"  
  
"Probably the same thing he did to Electra," Jareth growled, his mask a vicious scowl of rage. "I say we barbecue him."  
  
"But I'm not Megabyte!"  
  
"Drop the act already! What have you done with him?"  
  
"If he will not talk, then we shall simply lock him in the prison wing. Bob should revive the moment he drops his disguise," Phong said. He seemed as upset as Jareth at the prospect of Electra gone.  
  
"And once we know where Bob is, we'll decide what to do with YOU," Matrix gestured with Gun. "Move."  
  
"Matrix, it's me! I'm--"  
  
A blast hit the wall just beside Megabyte/Bob's head.  
  
"I said MOVE!"  
  
He moved.  
  
* * *  
  
The gathering at the booth at Dot's Diner was a rather tense one.  
  
"So Megabyte's a Trojan Horse now," Dot surmised. "As if he wasn't bad enough before."  
  
"Bob should be okay," Matrix said. "Megabyte didn't have time to do anything really horrible to him. I just wish we knew where he stashed him. I mean, how many places are there to hide a full-grown Sprite?"  
  
"There can't be that many," AndrAIa replied. "Has anyone tried searching the Principal Office?"  
  
"We searched it for Megabyte, I guess we can search it again for Bob."  
  
"Where's Jareth?" Dot asked. "We could use his help."  
  
"He went to check Electra's house, to see if there was any sign of her."  
  
"Electra's gone. He should just accept it," Matrix said. "Phong did a systemwide scan. No sign of her."  
  
"She could be out of the System," Dot replied.  
  
Matrix shook his head. "No signs of any portals opened since the one that brought Backslash and Kiren. Which makes me wonder...how did Megabyte get here?"  
  
"He must have come with Daemon," AndrAIa guessed. "He's a Trojan Horse now, he could have been any of the people who came with her as her escourt."  
  
"Back to the point: How can we find Bob if Megabyte won't drop his disguise?"  
  
"Ray said he was bringin' a friend to visit," Mouse said. "Another Search Engine. Maybe he'll be able to help out a little."  
  
"I think--" Matrix began.  
  
"I thought I smelled something burning." Jareth materialized, perched on the countertop across from the booth.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"Who's Ray bringing?" Jareth asked, ignoring Matrix's unwelcoming inquiry.  
  
"Someone he said he'd met in the Web," Mouse replied. "Said 'is name's Delta."  
  
"Huh. New person. Sounds interesting."  
  
"You have a reason for being here?"  
  
"Just a thought. Meggy's caught, why doesn't he drop the act?"  
  
"You'd know how a Virus' mind works better than we would," Matrix quipped.  
  
"Damn strait, and here's what I've got: That's not Megabyte in that cell. It's the real Bob."  
  
"Frisket pointed him out as being Megabyte."  
  
"Maybe Meggy's getting better at that shapeshifting trick. Or maybe that goop he sprayed screwed with Frisket's nose."  
  
"Or maybe you're just wrong."  
  
"Maybe. There's an easy way to tell. Just go ask the Sprite in that cell a question only Bob would know the answer to."  
  
Those at the booth traded glances. "That could work. But who--"  
  
"Me," Dot said. "I'll ask.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Dot emerged from the detention center, her face trying to convey both concern and relief at the same time.   
  
"It's him. It's Bob."  
  
Phong raised an eyebrow. "Are you certain, my child?"  
  
"Yes, I'm absolutely sure. Release him, Phong."  
  
Phong rolled over to a console and keyed in the appropriate command, and moments Later Bob walked through the door."Thanks, Phong."  
  
"Say, what'd you ask him?" Mouse inquired.   
  
Dot blushed. "Never you mind."  
  
"Unfortunately, this leaves us back at square one," Phong said. If Frisket's sense of smell is not reliable, whhat else do we have?"  
  
As if on cue, a shining silver orb appeared in the center of the room.  
  
"There's your answer, Sugah."  
  
Ray Tracer stepped out, Zurfbaud tucked under his arm, and after him stepped, to everyone's surprise, a strikingly attractive female sprite with lavendar skin and ridiculouly long, ridiculously yellow hair.  
  
"Hello everyone," the stranger said. "I'm Delta. Delta Ree."  
  
Mouse's jaw dropped.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wow. I've never seen Mouse give anyone that thourough a chewing-out before," Dot said, as she, AndrAIa, and Matrix left the Principle Office. Jareth followed, lagging behind.  
  
"Me, neither," AndrAIa agreed. "How could he not have told her that Delta was a girl?"  
  
"He said it never came up," Matrix defended. "Mouse never asked."  
  
"Sparky, you don't just not tell something like that. Not unless you have a reason not to."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why wouldn't Surfer tell her about that unless there were something going on between him and Ree?"  
  
"Because it never came up."  
  
"Oh, so if you had a female friend, and there was nothing going on between you, you'd tell me?"  
  
"If you asked, or if it came up, yes."  
  
"And if I didn't?"  
  
"Then I probably wouldn't."  
  
AndrAIa turned on Matrix. "How could you?"  
  
"How could I what?"  
  
"How could you not tell me?"  
  
"Why would I not not tell you?"  
  
"Because the only reason to not not tell me would be if there was something going on between you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Female logic, Matrix," Jareth quipped. "It doesn't make any sense to them, either. Just smile and nod."   
  
For once, Matrix couldn't argue.  
  
"Anyway," Dot said, as the group continued walking, "I'll bet Ray was glad to get to work. It meant getting away from Mouse."  
  
"Think he'll have any luck? I mean, if Keytools and scanners can't find Megabyte when he's in disguise...."  
  
Dot stopped so quickly Jareth ran right into her.   
  
"Dot? What--"  
  
"I've got an idea." Dot removed her organizer from her belt and dialed up a pair of Vidwindows, one showing Surfer, and the other Delta Ree. "Okay, Search Engines, listen up. Megabyte can't be detected by any known scanner, so instead of searching for him--"  
  
"Search for duplicate signatures of any one individual." AndrAIa finished, grasping Dot's idea.  
  
Dot nodded. "Right."  
  
There was a pause as Delta closed her eyes, scanning the interior of the P.O. Ray, hovering in the skies overhead, was probably doing likewise beneath his goggles.  
  
"I've got nothing," Ray said finally.  
  
"I do," Delta said. "There are two of the same Sprite here in the P.O. One's wandering the halls; the other's not moving."  
  
"Where is it? The stationary one?"  
  
"In one of the medlabs."  
  
"That's where Megabyte attacked us," Jareth offered. "Where we think he copied one of us."  
  
"And the only place he could have stashed his victim in time," Matrix added. he flung his Zipboard to the ground, hopping on as it developed from it's collapsed state to full size. "Let's get to that medlab."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Delta, Phong, and Welman met them at the entrance to the medlab. Delta led the way, arm extended. Finally, she zeroed in on the signal, pointing to a small cabinet beneath one of the lab tables.  
  
Matrix scoffed. "Come on. None of us could fit in there."  
  
"That's where the signal's coming from," Delta said. "There's no mistake."   
  
Jareth shrugged. "Maybe Meggy broke whoever it was in half first."  
  
Delta grinned. "That'd do it."  
  
Phong moved forward, grasped the handle, and, sincerely hoping that he'd find a whole Sprite inside, drew the doors open.  
  
There, lying in what appeared to be a very deep sleep, lay Frisket.  
  
"Frisket?!"  
  
"Afraid so. The Frisket wandering around the Principal Office is your Virus," Delta said.  
  
"Explains why he singled out Bob," Dot added.  
  
"So where's he going?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Where else?" Phong asked, more than a hint of alarm in his voice. "The Core!"  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Megabyte diligently searched the halls of the Principle Office, his four legs keeping up a steady pace. finally, he came to what he was looking for: a long hall that ended in a seeming dead end.  
  
Looking behind him to make sure he was alone, Megabyte dropped his disguise, transforming from red-and-yellow dog to massive, Cobalt-blue virus.  
  
"Lemon Drop," he intoned to the wall.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Megabyte sneered. Of course, Phong had gone and changed all the passwords. And now that he'd dropped his disguise, he couldn't resume it without touching that flea-bitten mongrel again.   
  
As if things weren't bad enough, red lights started to flash and alarms began blaring. The security systems had registered his presence!   
  
A number of cleverly hidden mechanical doors slid open in the walls, releasing a series of small discs. The discs spun through the air, bounced off the walls, and began racing down the hall in his direction.  
  
Pucks from Phong's inane game, Megabyte remembered. He had once set this very security system upon Bob, but the spry Guardian had weaseled his way through. Well, if Bob could escape this situation, then so could he.   
  
Flinging his silver, pencil-thin tentacles down the narrow corridor, Megabyte grabbed several of the discs from behind and flung them in the opposite direction. They flew for a bit, then slowed, reversed, and finally turned about altogether and back towards him. That's right...energy-seeking.   
  
Megabyte's eyes narrowed as the pucks approached, gaining speed, gaining momentum....then, at the last possible moment, he calmly stepped aside. Unable to stop or change direction in time, the pucks collided with the wall that blocked the entrance to the Core.  
  
The explosion, while not terribly powerful, had a great deal of force when focused through the narrow hallway. Megabyte found himself thrown down the coridore, and was able to land more or less on his feet.  
  
Before him, laid bare, was the Core Room.  
  
"Megabyte."  
  
Megabyte sighed. Only one voice in Mainframe was full of that much angst. He turned, and sure enough, there stood Matrix, his toy gun leveled at the Virus' head.  
  
"Must we play this game yet again, Boy?"  
  
Matrix fired. The energy blast shot forth, bridging the distance between them...and Megabyte caught it as though it were nothing more than a baseball.  
  
With a backhanded swing, Megabyte flung the energy ball, which sailed through the air in the direction of Matrix's chest....only to splash harmlessly against a wall of blue force that sealed itself over the hall.   
  
Behind Matrix, others had assembled. The Surfer was there, as was Bob, Jareth, and another Sprite Megabyte didn't immediately recognize, a purple one with yellow hair. Ray Tracer's hand was raised, glowing faintly blue. Megabyte turned and prepared to dive into the Core, to tap into it's vast energy, but found himself balked by a similar wall, this one purple.  
  
"It's over, Megabyte," Bob said. "You've lost."  
  
Megabyte smiled. "Oh, this is far from over, Guardian." The Virus opened his mouth and issued forth a blast of noxious green mist, just like before. This time it was contained by Surfer and Delta's force fields, but it effectively obscured the Virus' movements.  
  
"What's he doing?" Jareth asked.   
  
"Nothing good," Matrix growled. "Surfer, drop the wall."  
  
The nimbus of blue light around Ray's hand faded, and his force field did likewise. The green mist had begun to dissipat.  
  
"Gun -- projectile mode." Matrix strode forward, Gun raised, until he was lost in the fog.   
  
"He's gone!" Gone again!"  
  
Sure enough, Megabyte was gone.  
  
As the last of the mist faded, Bob stepped forward. "How? We had him trapped."  
  
Jareth nodded toward a corner where the wall met the floor. There was a sizable hole, apparently the wall and floor had been eaten through by some sort of acid. "That answer your question?"  
  
"He's moving," Ray said, tracking him. "He's heading for...." Ray paused, then shook his head. "He's gone."  
  
"And no sign of any duplicate signatures," Delta added. "Nothing ever works twice, does it?"  
  
"Most things don't even work once," Jareth said. "He's a clever one."  
  
Bob gazed at the etched hole in the wall. "And now, he's loose. Loose in Mainframe."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
With uncommon patience, Jareth held the final piece of the golden mask in place, waiting for the glue to set. Finally, the mask was whole, or as whole as he could make it. A few pieces were missing altogether, either ground to dust or simply lost, and the entire surface was still covered with a network of fine cracks.  
  
Frisket watched throughout the entire procedure, sometimes bringing him fragments that had found themselves on other sides of the room, sometimes simply staring, watching the glue set.  
  
Finally, without making a sound, Jareth rose to his feet, strode over to the fireplace, and placed the mask carefully on it's stand upon the mantle. It glittered in the glow from the overhead lights, and was a beautiful work of art despite the cracks. Jareth let out a small sigh, then turned and left the house.  
  
Frisket followed. He paused at the door, turned, at gazed forlornly at the mask. The large dog let out a small whimper, then he, too, left the house.  
  
The lights turned themselves off automatically once all motion in Electra's house ceased, but a few flecks of light could still be seen from the mantle. A tiny blue spark travelled along each crack in the golden mask, the fissure slowly closing behind it as it went.  
  
  
  
To be Continued in Chapter 11: Chu's Tale 


	12. Air's Art

Author's Note: A tip of the hat, please, ladies and gentlemen, to Chu herself, who helped make this chapter what it is today.....her poor spelling and grammar notwithstanding....   
  
Just kidding, Chu.... mostly...:P  
  
The Viral Guardian Series  
  
Chapter 11: Air's Art  
  
(AKA Chu's Tale)  
  
With a flash, a shining silvery orb appeared directly in front of Dot's Diner. A Sprite stepped out, then immediately jumped back to dodge an oncoming hovercar. She made a mental note to reprimand the Search Engine who had transported her here; the middle of the street was NOT an appropriate place to be dropped off.   
  
Running a hand through her snow-white hair, she looked both ways and crossed the street, entering the Diner.  
  
Mainframe had changed quite a bit, but the inside of the Diner was almost identical to the way it had been when she left. She grinned, showing off her short, sharp fangs, her red eyes glinting in the light. Home sweet home.  
  
Something was off. She normally went unnoticed until she called attention to herself, but the bell above the door should have given her away. She glanced up. Ah, that explained it. The bell appeared to have been blasted off. She'd have to have a chat with Dot about that, the girl had promised her when she bought the place that she'd take good care of it.  
  
Removing her purple cloak and hanging it on the coatrack by the door, she crossed the room and sat down at the bar. Then, to draw a little attention, she slapped her hand down on the counter.  
  
A few heads immediately turned towards the source of the noise. A few stared quizzically for a moment, wondering why she'd done that, and still others blinked to make sure their eyes were working properly. After all, it wasn't everyday one saw a Sprite with peach-colored, green-tinged skin.  
  
One head...a large, square one...simply stared in astonished surprise for a few moments.   
  
"Madame!" Cecil said. "Eet is you! You est returned to Mainframe!"  
  
"Stating the obvious, aren't we?" Chu grinned. "It's good to see you again, Cecil. Have you and Ms. Matrix been taking care of my Diner?"   
  
Now the robotic sever looked embarrassed. "We 'ave been trying, madame. Ze System, she has been in chaos for ages."  
  
"Yes, I heard. All that trouble with Daemon."  
  
A hush feel over the Diner, many binomes wincing, others huddling in terror.   
  
"Sor-RRY," Chu said, looking around at all the terrified stares that were aimed in her direction. She'd forgotten how skittish Binomes tended to be. Turning back to Cecil, she asked, "So, where is Dot, anyway?"  
  
Cecil straightened his tie. "Ms. Matrix ees a very busy person. Surely you do not imagine she spends ALL her time at only one of 'er many eestablishments?"  
  
"No, I suppose not."  
  
"Neverzeless, I eemagine zat if you wait 'ere long enough, she will turn up."  
  
Chu nodded. As Cecil scooted off on his track to tend to another table, she looked around at her old diner. Her eyes fell on the booth next to the door. There was one thing that HAD changed...in the old days, that booth was almost never empty. Her best customers, The young Guardians Backslash and Kit, Dot herself, her little brother Enzo, Electra.....and the weird one, what's his name....they would always be crammed onto the benches, happily chatting about whatever, spending all their allowances on snacks.   
  
Those were the days.  
  
* * *  
  
Jareth peered down at the city below, from his position atop one of the towers that supported the Gilded Gate Bridge, the bridge that connected Lost Angles to the city of Mainframe. It had been almost two months since Megabyte's latest invasion of the Principal Office, two months since Electra had been deleted. Well, two months from his User-time perspective. Who knew how long it had been in virtual time. The two didn't seem to mesh, and he'd never been able to get it all straight.  
  
He sighed, dangling his feet over the edge of the platform. Two months, and he'd barely left this tower. What was the point? Mainframe just wasn't any fun anymore. Not without Hex. Not without Electra. Sure, he could stir up some trouble of his own, but Bob and his friends would just set it all straight again, they always did. And Matrix would probably shoot at him.  
  
Jareth tinkered briefly with the possibility of going down, just to bug Matrix. The idea certainly had its merits. But no, too much trouble for not enough fun.   
  
"Unit for your thoughts?"  
  
Jareth spun his head around, not moving the rest of his body. Delta was hovering in the air behind him, her long yellow hair billowing out behind her in the wind. She glided forward and landed gracefully on the tower.  
  
The Virus scooted over, even though the platform was more than large enough for the two of them to sit comfortably.  
  
"Come on. This isn't like you."  
  
Jareth switch to a puzzled mask.  
  
"Okay, I know, I just got here and I barely know you, but I've heard stories. You're supposed to be this legendary troublemaker, and you've done almost nothing but stand here on this tower ever since I got into town."  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
"Come on, let's have some fun. Let's go blow something up. You Viruses enjoy that, right?"  
  
"Ordinarily, I'd jump at the opportunity, but.....I just don't feel like it." Jareth replied, turning his green stained-glass eyes back to the town below.  
  
"No? What if we blew up Bob's car?"  
  
"It might as well already be scrap. It doesn't work."  
  
"We could go fix it for him. Imagine the look on his face when he goes to start the engine and it actually starts."  
  
Jareth chuckled. The first time he'd laughed since......since. He glanced back over at Delta. She was smiling slyly at him, obviously trying to cheer him up. And it was working, damn her. He'd had a good funk going.  
  
Before he could say anything, a vidwindow popped into existance, making that really cool noise that vidwindows make when they pop into existance. Dot gazed levelly out at them. "Jareth, could you please meet me at these coordinates?" She asked. "I need you to have a look at this lamppost."  
  
* * *  
  
"Well, you spoke the truth," Delta said. "It's a lamppost."  
  
"Or at least it used to be," Jareth added, looking over the scarred and twisted metal.  
  
"I asked you here, Jareth, because this isn't the first thing to turn up slashed," Dot said. "There are similar slashes on the outer wall of the P.O., on the dumpster behind the Diner, And in half a dozen other places around the System. Binomes have been turning up missing. It's been going on for seconds now."  
  
"I haven't heard anything--" Delta began.  
  
"We've been trying to keep a lid on it," Dot explained. "We don't want to cause a panic, especially since people are just now starting to calm down about Daemon. And with Megabyte still on the loose...." She let the sentence hang there. Clearly, it wouldn't take much to spark off a riot.  
  
"And this concerns me, because....?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Because this metal was clawed," Dot replied, pointing to the deep gouges in the steel. "Clearly the work of a Virus. But it's not Megabyte's style...nothing to gain, and these marks indicate claws that are too slender and elegant, not the mechanical style his have. Timesprite doesn't have claws, and since Hex and Electra....left us, I have to assume...."  
  
"I see. Well, it wasn't me."  
  
"Can you prove that?"  
  
"Yes, he can," Delta said, examining the scratches. "Count the scratches."  
  
"Four scratches to a slash," Dot replied. "Which means four fingers to a hand. The stigma of a Virus."  
  
"Right, but count Jareth's fingers."  
  
Puzzled, Jareth raised his hands, fingers spread so as to be easily seen.  
  
Dot blinked. Jareth had four fingers on his left hand, like a Virus, but his right hand proudly sported five fingers, in the manner of a normal Sprite. "Nine fingers. I never noticed that before."  
  
"Neither did I," Jareth replied, turning his hands over and examining them. "But then, I can't count."  
  
"I don't know whether this is good news or bad," Dot said. "On the one hand....no pun intended....we know Jareth's innocent..."  
  
"Umm...."  
  
"Er....of this particular offense. However, this means we have an unidentified Virus running loose in the System."  
  
"Oh, yeah," Deltra remarked dryly. "That's MUCH worse than the identified ones."   
  
Dot wasn't listening, she was busy dialing a number into her organizer. "Bob? We have a problem."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Dot walked into the Diner, the place she'd asked everyone to meet. For a moment, she was puzzled by the absence of the ringing sound made by the bell above the door, but then she remembered that Jareth had blasted it off some time ago. She'd been meaning to have it replaced, but with all the recent troubles, she hadn't been able to find time.  
  
Dot looked around the Diner. Most of the patrons had been asked to leave, except for a few of the more stable regulars. Bob had arrived, as had Matrix, AndrAIa, Ray, Hack, Slash, and Backslash. They all looked up as she entered, waiting for her to speak.  
  
"Dot! There you are. I've been waiting all afternoon."  
  
Dot blinked, astounded, as Chu strode up to her, her red eyes twinkling in the lights, her skin the same eye-defying peach-green as it had been the last time she'd seen her. Dot wondered how in the Net she could have possibly missed her.  
  
The others were gazing at Chu in equal surprise; it was clear that they hadn't noticed her either.  
  
"Chu! I...well, it's good to see you again. Why didn't you call and tell me you were dropping by?"  
  
"And spoil the surprise? Never. What happened to my bell, Ms. Matrix?"  
  
Dot opened her mouth to respond, but someone beat her to it.  
  
"I did," Jareth answered, entering the Diner with Delta following close behind. "It was annoying me."  
  
Chu narrowed her gaze at him. "That bell was solid ditanium with genuine gold filigree. It was imported. Cost a good 500 units."  
  
Jareth switched to an intrigued face. "Isn't that a bit extravagant for a neighborhood diner?"  
  
His tone was familiar. Chu tilted her head to the side. "Don't I know you?"  
  
"After all the times you made me wash dishes, I should certainly hope so," Jareth said, feigning offense, crossing his arms and turning up his porcelain nose.  
  
Dot stepped in. "We don't have time for this. Has Bob explained the reason for this meeting?"  
  
"He said you'd explain the details, sis," Enzo said from one of the booths.Dot hadn't seen him, either. But at least he was small, and partially hidden by the back of the booth. Chu had no excuse.  
  
"There's a Virus in Mainframe," Dot said.  
  
Jareth feigned surprise, switching to a shocked mask. "A Virus? In Mainframe? No!"  
  
"Keep your trap shut, or they'll be one less," Matrix snarled.  
  
"If you insist, but there's not much point...it's usually shut, doesn't stop me from talking, does it? You know, I'm still trying to work out exactly where the sound comes from when I talk...it sounds like it's coming from inside my head, but it can't be, because..."  
  
"Jareth...."  
  
"....there's no opening for it to come out, unless maybe it's coming out my ears, and if it were coming out my ears, how would I hear? Can the same opening listen and talk at the same...."  
  
"Jareth...."  
  
"...time, or do you think I have an opening somewhere that I haven't found yet? You know, that didn't come out at all the way I wanted it to....maybe if I knew where it had come out I could have..."  
  
"JARETH!"  
  
"Yes, Dot?"  
  
"Okay, here's the plan," Dot said. "We'll split into four teams and search the System by sectors. Delta, you're with Matrix. Check out Kit's Sector. Bob, you and AndrAIa search Pearson's Data Dump and the docks. Ray, you're with Hack. Search the industrial sectors. Backie, you're with Slash. Check the area around the Principal Office. Any questions?"  
  
"Yeah," Delta said. "Why pair us off the way you did?"  
  
"She's pairing off the ones who have scanning abilities with the fighters," Jareth responded. "If you have to divide your forces, you should evenly distribute the skill sets between the teams, so if anything happens to one team, you don't lose everyone with one particular skill set. Basic tactics."  
  
Everyone stared at Jareth blankly.  
  
"What? I didn't sleep through EVERY class at the Academy."  
  
"Okay, get going," Dot commanded. "Report in if you find anything."  
  
The teams filed out through the double doors of the Diner.  
  
"What about me?" Enzo asked.  
  
"You're staying here where it's safe."  
  
"And me?" Jareth asked, before Enzo could start complaining.  
  
"You're staying here to guard us," Dot replied, gesturing to indicate herself, Enzo, Chu and Cecil.  
  
"Ah." There was a pause. "Mind if I order a snack?"  
  
* * *  
  
"So," Delta said. "Can you detect anything?"  
  
"What do you mean, me?" Matrix asked, as he and the lavendar-skinned Search Engine strolled through the streets of Kit's Sector. "I thought you were the scanner?"  
  
"Please. I am SO the fighter." Delta made a few jabs at the air. "You're the one with the eye."  
  
"I'm the one with the Gun. YOU'RE the Search Engine."  
  
"Fine, we'll both search, and if we find the--" Delta stopped herself just short of saying the word "Virus", noting the Binomes walking down the sidewalks all around them. "...the thing we're looking for, we'll both fight it. Sound okay?"  
  
"Fine," Matrix replied, his eye swiveling around in its socket and glowing a bright red.  
  
"Ooh." Delta's eyes widened. "Do that again."  
  
"No."  
  
"Doesn't that feel weird? When it spins like that? I mean, Doesn't it, like, tingle, or something?"  
  
There was a pause.  
  
"Sometimes," Matrix replied.  
  
* * *  
  
Enzo watched in astonishment as Jareth polished off the last of his ice cream sundae.   
  
"I always wondered how you eat through that mask."  
  
"Nothin' to it," Jareth quipped, spinning around on his barstool to face Dot and the others. "Any word yet?"  
  
"No," Dot said, frowning. "I was hoping they'd have found something by now."  
  
"You know what we should have one day? An Easter Egg hunt. I haven't been on one of those in a long time. I..."  
  
Jareth suddenly grabbed at the countertop, barely stopping himself from sliding off the barstool.  
  
"Jareth?" Enzo asked. "You okay?"  
  
"I...umm....not really..." And the black-clothed Virus collapsed in a heap.  
  
Enzo bent down to help him up.  
  
"Enzo, don't touch him!" Dot snapped, snatching him away.  
  
"What's happening to him?" the small Sprite asked.  
  
Jareth's outline was pixelizing, blurring, shifting in an out of focus.  
  
"I....I don't know. Just stand back."  
  
The blurring abruptly faded, and Jareth stood up.  
  
"Jareth?" Dot asked cautiously.  
  
"That....was a trip."   
  
Dot froze. That voice hadn't been Jareth's.  
  
The Virus turned, his mask displaying a devious, plotting expression. Now that he was facing them, Dot could see that he no longer wore dyed-black Guardian armor beneath his coat, but rather loose, billowing black clothing. The clawhorn was gone, he instead wore a triangular piece of gold metal around his neck on a chain. He no longer had ears, there was instead a small, upward-curving, hematite-colored horn on either side of his head. And his hair, instead of being neatly tied back into a ponytail, was now wild and untamed.  
  
"You're...Lore, aren't you?"  
  
"Give the girl a prize." Lore jumped up onto the countertop, perching like a gargoyle. "So. Who shall I shred first?"  
  
"You....wouldn't just delete a few Sprites, right?" Enzo asked nervously. "Not very impressive. Wouldn't you rather go stir up some trouble for the System? Wreak some havoc?"  
  
"Eh, that was more my sister's gig. Me, I get off on carnage."  
  
"Umm...but...where's the fun in that?"  
  
"The fun, little one, lies in the slashing. It's in the shredding of flesh, the snapping of bone and tendon, the listening to someone try to scream as his lungs fill with his own energy. It's in the look in a Sprite's eyes as he breathes his last, just before he fades into nothingness. There's nothing quite like it." Lore extended his long, bladelike claws.  
  
Dot's eyes widened as the claws grew from his fingernails. Long, slender, elegant....and four to a hand.  
  
"That...umm...doesn't sound very chaotic," Enzo said, still apparently trying to bluff his way through this.  
  
"Oh, it can be. The trick is to find creative new ways to butcher people. Allow me to demonstrate," Lore continued, hopping down from the counter.   
  
Enzo took a frightened step back.  
  
"Relax, little one." Lore switched to a grin. "This is going to be fun."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Lore spun around...and there stood a Sprite he hadn't noticed before. He couldn't imagine how he'd missed her, not with that color scheme...a sort of pinkish-green, with white hair and red eyes. She tossed something at him, and he deftly caught it.  
  
He glanced down at it. It seemed to be some sort of small, mechanical rodent. It was making a whirring sound, much like a fishing reel, its mechanical legs working, its long tail gradually retracting back into its body.  
  
"Interesting," the Virus said, glancing back up at the Sprite. "What is it?"  
  
Chu raised an eyebrow. "All the fun you can handle."  
  
Lore glanced back down at the device in his hand, just as the tail pulled completely back into the casing.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
AndrAIa waited patiently as Bob floated in the air above the Data Dump, his eyes half-closed. Finally, he sighed, floating back down and coming to rest next to her on the sidewalk just outside the fence.  
  
"Nothing?"  
  
"Nothing," Bob confirmed. "I could scan again...."  
  
AndrAIa's head suddenly whipped around, facing in the direction of the Diner.  
  
"What is it?" Bob asked.  
  
The Game Sprite shook her head. "Nothing. I just...thought I heard something."  
  
"What did it sound like?" The blue-skinned Guardian asked.  
  
"An explosion," AndrAIa replied matter-of-factly. "Probably just Jareth, getting into trouble like always."  
  
* * *  
  
Dot coughed as the smoke cleared, grateful that Chu had pulled her and Enzo back behind the shelter of the bar. The explosion, confined to a small space, had sounded much larger than it was, but there was no denying that the Diner would need considerable remodeling after this.  
  
"Enzo? You okay?"  
  
"I'm fine, sis."  
  
"I'm great, too, thanks for asking," Chu said, climbing to her feet.  
  
"Thanks for saving us, Chu."  
  
"We're not saved yet," Chu replied, peeking out over the bartop. "He's gone. Which either means my chu deleted him, which I doubt, or that he wandered off in search of something easier to kill. Funny, if I recall, Jareth always enjoyed a challenge."  
  
"That wasn't Jareth," Dot replied. "That was Lore."  
  
"BIG difference," Enzo said."  
  
"Excuse me," said a muffled voice from somewhere in the rubble behind Enzo. "But could one of you please get me out of zees?"  
  
Enzo turned around and fished a slightly battered Cecil out of the pile of broken ceiling tiles and fallen insulation, as Dot dialed a few numbers into her organizer.  
  
"Calling the others?" Chu asked.   
  
"Yes, for a quick briefing. This was supposed to be a discreet hunt for an unknown Virus, but the rules have changed. Again."  
  
"Ever notice they seem to do that a lot when Jareth's involved?" Enzo asked, dusting the soot off Cecil's screen.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Anything yet?" Matrix asked.  
  
Delta let her eyes fall half-closed. "No viruses...but....nothing else, either."  
  
"What?" Matrix asked, but even as he asked it, he realized that everything seemed eerily quiet. He looked around, his cybernetic eye buzzing. The street was deserted except for the two of them. It had gotten darker, too, the skies overhead were as clouded as they normally became when a Game Cube was about to drop. Intermittent flashes of electricity flashed across the sky.  
  
"Where did everybody go?" he asked.  
  
"I have no idea. But I wish I were there, too," Delta replied. "Creepy."  
  
The two walked along in weary silence for a moment.  
  
Abruptly, a harsh screeching sound filled the air. Both sprites spun around to confront the source of the noise.  
  
A black-clothed figure was walking along behind them, dragging a single bladelike claw along the wall of the adjacent building, creating a shower of sparks, the claw against the concrete making the noise they'd heard. When he saw that they'd noticed him, he stopped and brought the claw around in front of him.  
  
"Jareth? What are you doing here?"  
  
The figured chuckled, his emerald green eyes shining out at them.  
  
Another flash of lightning illuminated the street.  
  
Matrix's eyes widened, as did Delta's. This wasn't Jareth. He looked very similar, but there were subtle differences...the short, silver horns growing from the side of his head instead of ears....the absence of the Guardian armor beneath the long, flowing trenchcoat...  
  
"Lore," Matrix growled.  
  
"Lore?" Delta asked, confused. "Can't be."  
  
"Ohhh, but it can," Lore jeered. He took a few steps forward. His walk matched his attitude: sinister, yet the walk of someone who was thoroughly enjoying himself.  
  
"The weather your doing?" Delta asked.  
  
"One of the advantages of being a Virus like me is that you can order your own scenery according to mood." The black-masked Virus snapped his fingers, and rain began to fall.  
  
Matrix held his hand out to his side, and Gun detactched itself from his hip and shot into his grip.  
  
"Ah-ah-ah," the Virus said, wagging his finger, his mask grinning widely. "None of that."  
  
The Gun shot out of Matrix's hand and into Lore's. He held it up, like a child inspecting a new toy.  
  
"What does this button do?" he asked, the innocent tone in his voice not even close to covering the micheviousness. A blast shot forth from Gun's barrel as Jareth fiddled with it, ricocheting off the walls of the buildings lining the street.  
  
Delta raised her arm, a nimbus of purple light surrounding it. The blast struck against a ghostly wall of energy, shattering into harmless sparks before it had the chance to do much damage.  
  
"Aww....you're no fun." Lore tossed the Gun back over his shoulder carelessly, letting it fall to the pavement. Then, cackling, he leapt forward, claws extended.....only to find himself contained in a bubble of violet energy, suspended five feet off the ground in mid-pounce.  
  
"Got 'im," Delta said, both arms raised now, eyes narrowed in concentration.  
  
Matrix held up his hand, and Gun shot back through the air to him. He caught it deftly. "How long can you hold him?"  
  
"Long enough."  
  
Lore abruptly ceased struggling, calmly turning to glare, grinning, at Delta.   
  
The Search Engine saw the look, and swallowed nervously. "Or not."  
  
Lore snapped his fingers, and the bubble exploded with enough force to lift Matrix and Delta clear off their feet, both Sprites landing unceremoniously on their bitmaps.  
  
Lore sauntered over and picked Delta up by the throat. Ignoring Matrix, he lifted her into the air, and, extending the claw of his forefinger, he raised it up to her nose.  
  
"Do you have any idea what I'm going to do to you now?"  
  
Delta couldn't answer, not with that bony white hand closed on her windpipe.  
  
"No? Didn't think so. Shall I tell you, then? Well, why not. I, little Sprite, will slice you open and re-arrange your internal...well, external by this point...organs into alphabetical order. And then.....if you're lucky..." he switched to a grin. "I'll delete you."  
  
"Virus!"  
  
"Hmmmmm?" Lore turned his head completely around, to see Matrix standing behind him, eye glowing a fierce crimson, Gun levelled at his head.  
  
*BANG!*  
  
Just as Matrix fired, Lore vanished, his mask spinning off in a random direcion. Instead of Lore, the blast struck...  
  
"Delta!" Matrix jumped forward and caught the Search Engine before she fell to the ground.  
  
Delta stumbled forward, arms clutching her stomach. She looked up at Matrix's stunned expression, then down at Her hands, stained with her own energy.  
  
A demented chuckle echoed throughout the street.  
  
Then everything went black.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
Inside the Principal Office, Phong tended to the minor bruises and scrapes that Dot, Enzo, and Cecil had suffered in the explosion at the Diner.   
  
Abruptly, a vidwindow popped up. Dot was relieved to see Matrix's face, even if he did look so concerned; some sort of interference had prevented her from reaching him when she vidwindowed the others.  
  
"Phong!" Matrix cried. "I need a med team, now! It's Delta..."  
  
Phong immediately wheeled over to a console and made arrangements for a medical team to start heading towards the Renegade's location.  
  
"What happened to her?" Dot asked.  
  
"I...well....sort of....shot her."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"It wasn't my fault!"  
  
"Who's was it?" Dot asked accusingly, then answered herself at the same time her brother did. "Lore's."  
  
"Listen to me, Matrix, There's something wrong with Jareth--"  
  
"There's ALWAYS something wrong with Jareth."  
  
Dot couldn't argue with that, so she didn't try. "Just try to capture him, not delete him. Okay?"  
  
Matrix grinned. "You'd be proud of me, sis...that's exactly what I WAS trying to do. Delta would be long gone by now if Gun had been set to full power."  
  
"I'm sure she'll thank you for that when she recovers," Dot said, a relieved smile on her face. Just then, other bodies began moving in the background behind Matrix.  
  
"Med team's here. Gotta go." And Matrix closed the window.  
  
Enzo, who'd been eerily quiet, abruptly turned and addressed Chu. Dot started....once again, she'd forgotten that the strangely-colored Sprite was there.  
  
"What are you?" Enzo asked.  
  
"What?" Chu looked down at the young Sprite.  
  
"What are you? I mean, you can't be a normal Sprite. Not with the things you do. I mean, like that thing where you disappear....well, not really disappear, but they way everyone seems not to notice you...and that bomb you threw...where'd it come from?"  
  
Chu and Phong exchanged a glance. Chu nodded.  
  
Phong turned back to Dot, cecil, and Enzo."I suppose you deserve to know the entire story," he said. "It all began many, many cycles ago....when I was a young Sprite...."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
The Past....  
  
  
  
The young Sprite was lounging on the fountain in the middle of system's public square, idly watching a couple of younger sprites playing tag, and listening to his best friend Apple babbling about some sort of levitation device that his dad was working on to enable quicker travel.  
  
He stared into the energy fountain, watching it form mesmerizing spiral patterns and soft ripples. His eyes were just starting to close when he felt the world drop out from under him.   
  
SPLASH!  
  
He flailed around for a moment, trying to figure out what had happened, before regaining his bearings. He sat up, the energy in the shallow fountain not quite coming up to his chest, and blinked his eyes a few times to clear them. He looked straight into Apple's glaring face.  
  
"Oh, I knew you weren't listening! You fell asleep," the accusatory tone and the sharp poke in the ribs that accompanied it cleared out the last of his confusion.  
  
"Hey. You pushed me didn't you?"  
  
"What, who me?" Apple took a step back trying to look as innocent as possible.  
  
"You did. You little sneak."  
  
"Well I had every right to. You fell asleep!"  
  
The Sprite clambered out of the fountain, splashing energy all over, just as Apple turned and ran. He tried, with only partial success, to wring out his clothes, then made to take off after him....when the sirens went off.  
  
He stopped and looked around in confusion. What did that noise mean? He racked his mind for any mention of that blaring noise in any of the history files that he was so fond of reading. He shook his head and looked around. The other children were looking around in confusion, as were most of the adults. The sky had started to turn a strange color, the air seemed charged and oddly quiet.  
  
The adults were now ushering their own children into the safety of their houses.  
  
He wondered if perhaps he should go indoors, too. But it was a rather long way back to the dojo where he lived with his uncle. His parents had been deleted in an unfortunate file crash when he was only two cycles old, and Commadore, the command.com of the System, placed him with his uncle, who had raised and watched out for him ever since. That was fifteen cycles ago.  
  
No, he decided. He would stay and see what happened.  
  
The sky was now a deep purple, and starting to shimmer strangely. He was the only one still standing in the square. The sirens were still blaring, and looking up, he saw a strange shimmering purple cube appear directly above the fountain.  
  
It was beautiful, and yet somehow incredibly menacing. He gazed up at it in awe, watching the scintillating colors play across its surface as it started to descend. He felt himself falling into a trance as it descended.   
  
Something tugged at the edge of his memory. He DID know what this was. He had been .4 when he had met him. A strange Sprite, wearing some sort of battered bluish armor. He'd said that he came from a ruined system where the...the young sprite scanned his memory for the term that the Sprite had used...Gamecubes, that was it....where the gamecubes had one day started landing. An unending stream of them. They had torn the sky, and made the energy seas bubble, and then began redning apart land, buildings, and sprites alike. The damage had become so bad that the system had started to fail.   
  
Using information from an old legend, the residents had tried to create a tear in a last ditch effort to save themselves. Only a handful managed to escape before the system crashed.  
  
The blue-armored sprite's stories had frightened the children of system. Their parents, with the aid of the Command.Com, had driven him away, assuring everyone that he was completely random and that he spoke nonsense.  
  
But this was it, exactly as the old sprite had said, it was happening here. In this System.  
  
A wash of terror stuck him, his eyes widening, as he remembered another detail: Anyone who was standing under the Gamecube when it fell disappeared and was never seen again. When the cube lifted, after it had wreaked its terrible destruction, the sprite or binome that had been caught by it was always gone without a trace. Nothing ever remained but a cube shaped hole in the ground...and a few energy-sucking parasites.  
  
He looked at it. It was close now, directly above him. He started running, but it was much too close, was falling too fast.  
  
He screamed as the shimmering wall descended in front of him, around him. He shut his eyes tight, awaiting the end, as the Cube touched the ground with a soft THUD.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The present...  
  
Bob sighed as Dot's Vidwindow closed. "It's always something."  
  
"Bob...Look." AndrAI pointed off into the distance.   
  
Following her finger, the Guardian saw that the skies above Kit's Sector had darkened over with clouds, randomly illuminated by flashes of purple lightning.  
  
"That's got to be Lore." Bob rose up off of the ground and began to float toward the sector. AndrAIa opened her Zipboard and followed.   
  
Before either of them had gotten anywhere near Kit's, a spinning black object shot away from the darkened sector and made a beeline right for them.  
  
"Ack!" Bob stopped hovering and dropped, the projectile tearing right through the air where he'd been hovering. A michievous cackle filled the air as Bob floated back up to his previous altitude.  
  
The object turned around in midair, spun closer, and, with a blinding flash, revealed itself to be Lore, his long coat morphed into an enormous pair of black-feathered wings.  
  
"Hiya, Bob!"  
  
"Hello," Bob said cautiously.  
  
"Jareth?" AndrAIa asked. "Are you in there?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry....Jareth's not in just now. Would you like to leave...." Lore switched to his 'Bloody Murder' mask. "...A message?"  
  
The Virus snapped his long, bony fingers, and AndrAIa's zipboard shot out from under her, flying straight into Lore's grip.   
  
"AndrAIa!" Bob dived, hoping to catch the Game Sprite before she hit the pavement below.  
  
Lore cackled for a moment, then paused contemplatively. "So....no message, then?"  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
The Past....  
  
He stood very still, waiting to be deleted, wondering what it felt like, if it felt like anything at all. He stood like that with his eyes screwed tightly closed for what seemed to him like seconds.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
He opened one eye, vaguely annoyed at having put that much terror into the thought of deletion and then being made to wait for it.  
  
He saw a riot of colors and shapes. There were a number of Small furry creatures with long snouts, and a soft breeze that gently wafted past, smelling of spices and greenery.  
  
Was this what deletion was like? It wasn't remotely what he had expected.  
  
He opened the other eye and looked down. One of the small creatures was curled around his ankle. It was cute. He reached down and picked it up, it crooned softly sniffing at his hand.  
  
"So," he mused to himself. "Since I don't really think this is deletion, I wonder where I am. Do you know?" He patted the little creature, which gazed back at him with large crystalline eyes. "No, I don't suppose you can talk."  
  
He looked around. He was standing at a crossroads, in what appeared to be the middle of a forest. There were trees of all different colors, and about a dozen of the little animals like the one he was holding. The sky was a soft pastel blue and there was liquid dripping slowly onto the ground.  
  
He laughed and the critter in his hands jumped. It was he who was dripping, he still hadn't dried off after his fall into the fountain. Could it really have only been a few moments before? It seemed like a lifetime ago.  
  
He placed the small animal carefully back on the ground and double-clicked his icon to reboot to a dry outfit.  
  
Instead of the outfit he'd wanted, a large wooden shield and a spear appeared in his hands. A rather heavy furred hat slipped down over his eyes as he started in surprise. These were NOT part of his wardrobe. He tossed them onto the ground, sputtering as the weight of the hat pressed on his damp hair, causing the energy to trickle down onto his face.  
  
He scowled. For User's sake, why didn't rebooting dry hair?  
  
He sat down on the ground, shucking a couple pieces of armor that he had missed the first time, and started fiddling with the strings holding his hair up, trying to remember why it was that the students at his uncle's dojo had to wear their hair long. Something about having to tie it up every few minuets teaching patience, he decided. If he ever got back to system he was cutting it short, no matter what uncle said.  
  
A loud BOOM, and a scream, startled him out of his grumblings. Without thinking, he leapt up and took off in the direction of the sound to see if whoever had screamed needed help.  
  
A moment later he crashed into her rounding a corner, and they both went sprawling into the undergrowth.  
  
"Ouch," he rubbed his elbow, which had struck a tree branch on the way down. Brushing himself off, he started to stand up. The girl with whom he had collided grabbed his arm, pulling him back down and motioning to keep quiet.  
  
"Err, sorry about that, are you alrigh…"  
  
She clamped a hand firmly over his mouth just as another form came hurtling around the corner and stopped just feet away from where they were crouched.  
  
It was another sprite. He was wearing a green tunic and holding a nasty looking toothed sword, so large that he really should have fallen over.  
  
He turned around angrily, glaring up and down the path, but not giving the trees lining it a second glance.   
  
Uttering a loud growl and a string of indecipherable gibberish, he continued on down the path in the opposite direction from which he had come.  
  
The girl stood up and brushed some leaves and twigs out of her hair and off her clothes.  
  
"I'm real sorry you had to get caught in the middle of that, but that idiot has been chasing me all day. By the way," she said, reaching out her hand, "My names Epoch, who are you?"   
  
"Phong," the Sprite answered, shaking the outstretched hand and getting pulled to his feet in the process. "Nice to meet you. But why is he chasing you?"  
  
She shrugged. "Who knows what goes through a Users mind? Near as I can tell, he just likes running around and stabbing things."  
  
"Did you say User?"  
  
"Yup, what's wrong? You look upset."  
  
"But...aren't the Users the one who created the System? Why would one of them be trying to delete people?"  
  
A look of confusion passed over Epoch's face. "System? What's the System?"  
  
"This is, isn't it?"  
  
"This is the Game."  
  
A piercing howl came from a ways down the path.  
  
Phong jumped. "what was that?"  
  
"Funny, he shouldn't do that...unless he's re-found our trail."  
  
"Oh, that makes sense. He probably found the sword and shield that I dropped earlier...and the strings out of my hair. You screamed before I had a chance to put them back."  
  
"Why do you need strings in your hair?"  
  
Phong shrugged. "Something to do with obsolete discipline forms."  
  
Epoch clearly decided she was happier not asking about it.  
  
* * *  
  
The present....  
  
It was funny how things seemed to slow down, AndrAIa thought, as the windows of the building shot past, not five feet away from her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Bob had his hands full with Lore. No help there. And the pavement was coming up at her very, very fast.   
  
The Gamesprite snatched the small cyllindar from her belt. She flipped the switch on the side, extending it into a razor-sharp trident. Whirling the weapon around, she jammed it into the side of the building, trying to use the jagged head of the weapon at the best angle to catch the vertical surface. The Game Sprite was slammed quite hard against the building, and she struggled to keep her grip on the shaft of the trident. Sparks flew as the blades cut a deep furrow into the solid wall. Someone was bound to complain about the damage...but it did the trick; when AndrAIa finally reached the sidewalk, she was falling slowly enough that the impact was only badly jarring instead of fatal.  
  
Shaking it off, she glanced up into the sky, wishing that her eyesight was as acute as her hearing. She narrowed her eyes at the small black form darting around in the air.  
  
With a flick of her fingers, she extended the fingernails of her right hand, then aimed them at the sky.  
  
"Hold still...."  
  
The black form paused in its movement across the sky.  
  
AndrAIa's eyes widened. "I didn't expect you to actually listen."  
  
And, launching them so hard that the recoil stung clear down to her elbow, AndrAIa fired the toxic spines into the air.  
  
* * *  
  
"Leaving already?"  
  
Before he'd gotten anywhere near AndrAIa, Bob found himself being telekinetically grabbed and flung back up into the air.  
  
Regaining his equilibrium, he turned mid-air and fired a golden globe at the emerald-eyed Virus. When it struck Lore, it expanded, sealing him in a sphere of transparent amber energy.  
  
Bob glanced down and prepared to dive again to rescue his friend, but he'd lost sight of her...wait, there! A small shower of sparks, running down the side of one of the buildings. That was her.  
  
Abruptly, a large, sprite-sized sphere of transparent amber energy rocketed across the sky and struck Bob. Rather than enveloping him, it simply struck him, making a sound not unlike that of a basketball hitting someone upside the head.  
  
Lore was lying on his side in the air, wings flapping lazily, examining his claws in boredom. He theatrically let out a yawn.  
  
Bob glared, and began firing ball after ball of golden light at Lore, doubling the amount of energy he put into each, attemtping to recapture him. Lore darted through the air, dodging Bob's attacks, giggling like a loon the whole time, occasionally pausing to taunt the Guardian.  
  
"Missed me! Missed me again! Whoops! One more time. Damn, Guardian, your aim's worse than your haircut."  
  
As Lore paused to deliver the one-liner, a spray of six-inch-long needles lanced through the air. One of the caught the Virus in the leg.  
  
"Aiyye!" Lore pulled it out, glared at it, then glared down at the ground.  
  
Bob tried to take advantage of the distraction, firing another orb at the Virus, but Lore saw it coming and blasted it, popping it like a bubble. He switched to his most ferocious mask.  
  
"Okay. Over this now." The black-clothed Virus raised his arms above his head, a massive ball of dark green energy forming between the four-fingered hands.  
  
Bob braced himself for the blast, but it never came; the sphere dissipated as Lore seemed to lose his balance, almost falling out of the air, his wingflaps becoming erratic. Lore shook his head, vanished into his mask, and went spinning off across the sky.  
  
Bob sighed, then went floating down to check on AndrAIa.  
  
* * *  
  
The past.....  
  
A short time later, they were sitting at a small table in a room in Epoch's cottage on the outskirts of the town.  
  
After their escape from the bloodthirsty User, Phong explained about how he had ended up wandering the Game's forest paths. Upon hearing that he was lost and didn't know how to get home, Epoch decided to take it upon herself to make him as comfortable as possible.  
  
She was currently explaining the political and monetary systems of the Game, to which Phong was listening raptly...and a bit incredulously.  
  
"So, the people here really don't care of you just walk in and out of their homes?"  
  
"Nope"  
  
"And the kingdom, which consists of this little village, and a large amount of very dangerous forests and mountains and swamps, is ruled over by a king that no one has seen in...how long?"   
  
"Decades."  
  
"Decades? What's a decade?"  
  
"Ten years."  
  
"Years?"  
  
"She explained about time, and he felt that sense of panic returning.  
  
"But a second is a very long time," he said.  
  
"No, it's a very short time. For example, this sentence took several seconds to say."  
  
"But if that's true, then even if I do get home, it'll be long after I left."  
  
She looked concerned. "Well...maybe seconds here aren't really the same as seconds there?"  
  
"I hope not," he said, allowing himself to be consoled.  
  
A bell rang.  
  
Epoch looked startled. She walked over to the far wall and picked up a small square, which she then strapped to her wrist and started poking.  
  
"What's that?" Phong asked.  
  
"It's a datastreamer, almost all sprites here in the Game have them. Urgh, he's earlier than normal."  
  
She walked out the door leading to the front room. Phong got up and followed.  
  
He froze as he reached the doorway. There was the User from earlier, standing in the middle of the room. Had it followed them here?   
  
He started to shout a warning to Epoch, but paused. She was calmly talking to it.  
  
Apparently coming to an agreement, she walked over to a shelf and picked up a small box, which she handed to the User, who abruptly turned and walked out.  
  
Phong walked out into the room. "What was that all about?"  
  
"He was buying weapons."  
  
"Not trying to delete you?"  
  
"No, I'm at home now."  
  
"Why should that make a difference?"  
  
"The user only attacks things in the wilderness."  
  
"That's kind of odd."  
  
"Really? I thought it was normal. I guess I should be more thorough in my explanations. Neither of us really has much of a frame of refernce."  
  
"Good idea."  
  
They both went back into the backroom and sat down at the table again.  
  
"And while you're at it, you can explain to me why you would sell something THAT violent weapons, of all things."  
  
* * *  
  
A number of what Epoch called days had passed. Phong was wandering aimlessly around the town, he had been assured that it was safe, and he was bored. After the excitement of the first "day" he had discovered that it was actually incredibly dull in the game world.  
  
It turned out that Epoch was the owner of a weapon shop, one of four that the town had.  
  
He wondered about the redundancy of that, but didn't press the subject. Apparently, she as a gamesprite was required to sell weapons to anyone who asked. She had scolded him mildly for leaving his own lying in the forest.   
  
She also ran what she called a minigame, called bombbomb, that involved much and a large circle and striped walls, all of which he found confusing and carefully avoided.  
  
Every few days the User returned for new weapons, but other than that almost nothing had happened since his arrival.  
  
He missed Apple, and his uncle, and was simultaneously wondering if they were all right and walking down Main Street for the twenty third time that day when it happened. The sky started flashing and then everything went dark for a moment. When it cleared, all of the townspeople had changed position.  
  
Epoch checked her datastreamer for the third time. Three more hours gametime before he made it to her store. She sighed and went over her lines, and mentally added in a few comments of her own. The User was absolutely terrible at the level, seventeen days after this one, he kept getting reset, and had to come back to her shop over and over. Not that she minded that much. She sighed and checked the mirror to make sure she looked just right. Then turned to greet him as he opened the door.   
  
"Good day sir, this is the weapons shop, we have all sorts of unique and wonderful weapons for you to purchase, or, if you would prefer, you could also play the bomb game…" She smiled, but then froze. That was not the User.  
  
She rechecked her datastreamer. No, he had another hour before he would come here.  
  
Who was this person? He wasn't supposed to come into her store. Only the User and the boss were supposed to come into her shop. Well, them, and two random villager sprites, but that wasn't till after the village was destroyed in the third chapter.  
  
"You can't be in here. It's not in the script!" She glared at him, hoping that he would get the message and leave. He didn't.  
  
He just looked at her in confusion. "Epoch, what happened?"  
  
She jumped. How did he know her name?  
  
She looked more closely at him. Young man, yellow skin, black hair, strangely dressed, quite handsome. Almost as much as the user.  
  
Something tugged at the back of her mind. Actually he did look familiar…And then it hit her. Phong!  
  
"I remember now! Err...what…?"  
  
He rapidly explained to her about the flashing sky, the blackout, the moving villagers, and her own strange reaction.  
  
"Hmm...that is odd. I wonder why that happened. Oh, I know!" A light bulb flashed over her head, which Phong gaped at. Epoch shooed it away. "Ignore that, it happens. That must have been a restart!"  
  
"A restart?" Phong looked doubtful.  
  
"Yes, it happens when…"  
  
Just then the User walked in, ahead of schedule. Phong sighed and went back into the backroom to wait. He had gotten used to the fact that everything else got put on hold when the User entered. Epoch and the User once again went through their little show of weapons selling and buying.  
  
After he left, Phong walked up and tapped Epoch on the shoulder.  
  
"You were telling me about restarts?"  
  
She blinked, looking puzzled for a moment, and then nodded.  
  
"A restart is when the User dies," she said. "The User is very important to our world. It's his mission to find something that will stop something bad from happening."  
  
"Any bad thing in particular, or just something generally bad?" He had heard this part before, her memory seemed to be a bit off today.  
  
She shrugged. "Anyhow, if the User dies, then the game restarts at day one. Everything that happened before the User died gets reset with it. For example, you know how I was in the forest when we met? Well, that was tomorrow. Or will be."  
  
Phong nodded, absorbing this information. "So this happens every time the user dies?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And I'm assuming the townspeople will have trouble remembering me, too?"  
  
"Most likely. Everything restarts time, treasure, the stock of all the shops, and even the memory of all the Gamesprites."  
  
"Short lives you people have."  
  
She shrugged.  
  
"And this will just keep repeating, over and over again?"  
  
"Yes it will." She gazed at the wall thoughtfully, Then back at his face. "Actually...it might not."  
  
"What might not?"  
  
"Repeat continuously."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"I heard somewhere that the User has a limited number of lives. He can increase the number by beating dungeons, but its still a finite number."  
  
"Ah," Phong smiled, "Now were getting somewhere. So what happens when he runs out?"  
  
"I don't really know. Game Over, I think."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
They spent a number of days, and two more reset cycles, discussing "Game Over" and what it might mean. They even went around all of the other townspeople and asked their opinion,, which was fairly pointless, since most of them could only repeat the same innane phrase over and over again.  
  
Finally, they decided that, given the fact that their world reset every time the User died, it might not be a bad idea to get rid of the User permanently. After all, no one actually knew what the bad thing actually was that he was always fighting. For all anyone knew, the User could have made it up.  
  
Thus far, the User had almost always made it to something called Level Seven before he died, which was on day eighteen and afforded him the chance to get an extra life or two by the time he was killed. Therefore, he would have to be killed before then. The problem was that, by the time the villagers remembered this, it was too late in the Game and the User already had his extra life.   
  
Apparently, Phong was the only person who kept his memory intact during a restart, so it was left up to him to kill the User. That, and the fact that he didn't seem to be bound by silly game rules....such as not attacking people in town.  
  
Given the options, he agreed.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The Present.....  
  
"I like the Apple green bubblegum..."   
  
"Slash...."   
  
" Y'know I like to call it Radioactive bubblegum because it's brightbright green and it never loses it's color or flavor."   
  
"Slash..."  
  
"Hack keeps telling me 'Slash. No Bubblegum can keep it's flavor or color forever, Sooner or later it's going to go white' But no! I've seen the proof! It goes slightly Yellowish but it never loses that Green color!"  
  
"Slash!"  
  
"Eh, yes, Backslash, sir?"  
  
Backie paused for a moment. "How do you CHEW gum, anyway?"  
  
Just then, a number of Binomes stampeded past them, knocking Backslash over. Slash caught him before he hit the sidewalk.  
  
"Ow! Thanks, Slash."  
  
"Where are they going?" Slash asked.  
  
"Away from something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Let's find out."  
  
Following the trail of scampering, panic-striken Binomes, the two discovered Lore, calmly sitting atop a pile of...  
  
Slash covered the glowing panel that occupied the place where his mouth would have been, had he posessed one. "I think I'm gonna be sick."  
  
Backie's eyes were wide, and his dark green skin was several shades paler than normal. "Right there with you."  
  
A pile of cubes, obviously taken from several dozen binomes, lay in the center of the street. The heap was vaguely arranged into the shape of a chair or throne. Several of the still-attached limbs were twitching slightly, a number of eyes rolled in their sockets. The streets still ran with their energy, it covered every available surface, staining the pavement and flowing into the sewer grates. The black-clothed Virus lounged atop the throne, his mask a malicious grin.  
  
"You...you deleted them?" Backslash was stunned. Obviously, Lore was a Virus, but somehow Backie had still been thinking of him as his relatively harmless Viral Guardian self. This gruesome act had blown that impression clear away.  
  
"Deleted? Oh, no, Guardian. They are all very much still ali-" The Virus twitched. "-processing. Would you paint a portrait only to see it burned? Would you write a great novel, only to shred it before it could be read? Of course not." Lore rose up off the pile, floating in the air. He gesture towards the pile. "Do you see what I have done? A symphony I have created of flesh and blood, of pain and fear. This...this is life itself, Guardian, for never is a creature as truly alive as when every cell screams in obscene agony. Can you imagine it? Every nerve firing, burning....alive. You won't have to imagine for long, mind you. You'll soon be experiencing it yourself."  
  
"They're....still processing?"  
  
"Yes! I wouldn't dream of depriving them of this, the greatest affirmation of their existance. You can see it in their eyes...the one that still have eyes, that is....you can see the pain, the fear...for they all know that the only thing maintaining them is my will....a single thought, and they cease to be...Have you ever seen it, Guardian? Have you seen the look in the eyes of the dying, the look in their eyes as life leaves them, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell that soon dissolves away into nothingness?"  
  
"You're insane!"  
  
"Clearly. But you have to admit, I'm good at it. Imagine....everything that these binomes are....they're experiences, their memories, their lives, their souls...gone, in an instant. I'll even unmute them, so we can hear the screams....they're screaming now, see, but I thought I'd dial it down so we could have this chat."  
  
Backslash shook his head. "No..."  
  
"No? You mean that I should leave them like this? To spend the rest of their days in such agony? Pretty cold, Guardian. No, I'm dying to hear the crescendo....and I'm sure people will complain when traffic starts to back up. We ARE in the middle of Main Street, after all."  
  
Lore floated around until he was facing the gory mess, his back to Backslash. The Virus raised his arms dramatically. "And...Action!" He cried.  
  
The screams echoed across the entire System.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
The past...  
  
Epoch checked her datastreamer for the fourth time. Three more hours gametime before he made it to her store. She sighed and went over her lines, and mentally added in a few comments of her own. The User was absolutely terrible at the level, seventeen days after this one, he kept getting reset, and had to come back to her shop over and over. Not that she minded that much. She sighed and checked the mirror to make sure she looked just right. Then turned to greet him as he opened the door.   
  
"Good day sir, this is the weapons shop, we have all sorts of unique and wonderful weapons for you to purchase, or, if you would prefer, you could also play the bomb game…" She smiled, but then froze. That was not the User.  
  
She rechecked her datastreamer. No, he had another hour before he would come here.  
  
Who was this person? He wasn't supposed to come into her store. Only the User and the boss were supposed to come into her shop. Well, them, and two random villager sprites, but that wasn't till after the village was destroyed in the third chapter.  
  
"You can't be in here. It's not in the script!" She glared at him, hoping that he would get the message and leave. He didn't.  
  
Instead, he leapt behind the counter, and, grabbing one of her display weapons, crouched down and yelled, "Tell me when he gets here!"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The User, of course!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"So I can stop him before he gets any further."  
  
She squealed. No no NO! This was all wrong, did this strange sprite mean to hurt the handsome user? "Get out of my shop! The user is nice He's kind and polite and handsome and always plays my Bombbomb game!"  
  
He looked at her pityingly. "So…your not gonna help me?"  
  
She grabbed a club that was sitting on the counter, and prepared to clobber him with it. She had half a notion that she could protect the User by hitting the mean yellow sprite.  
  
The User walked in, and something clicked in her mind.  
  
The strange sprite ducked as the User walked up to the counter   
  
"Phong!" Epoch yelled, and the User looked around in confusion. This was not what was supposed to be happening here.  
  
Just then, Phong leapt from behind the counter and impaled the User with his sword.  
  
The User collapsed, and everything flashed and went black.  
  
* * *  
  
Phong was standing outside of Epoch's weapon shop, sword held innocently behind his back. The User would be here any moment.  
  
He had done this numerous time now, and was getting quite good at user killing. He had used almost all of the weapons in Epoch's store at least once now, as well as catching the User on the way one time and pushing it off a cliff.  
  
Epoch sat at the side of the path a few feet away. The User was taking his sweet time getting here today. He had had time to jog her memory, as usual, and after a brief explanation she had decided to help. As the weather on day one was nice, and because it was against the rules for her to fight inside her shop, they were waiting outside.  
  
The user approached warily, it seemed he was starting to anticipate this attack, as he had been getting steadily more creative and difficult to kill.  
  
The User spotted them and drew his sword.  
  
Phong grinned. Yes, the User was definitely getting jumpier. Who would have guessed he had so many lives?  
  
Just then one of the small furry things that he had seen just after arriving in the game, scurried up. It was the first time that Phong had seen one of them since first arriving.  
  
It ran right over the User's feet.   
  
The User paused, apparently he hadn't seen these creatures before. Epoch and Phong both leapt into action, not about to waste the opportunity.  
  
Phong scored a hit, but not a lethal one. The User darted back and pulled a bottle out of its backpack, downing the entire thing at a gulp. His wounds visibly healing, the User charged straight at Phong, sword raised.  
  
Phong ducked aside as the User's sword slammed down where his head had been moments before. He stabbed at the user, who let out a yelp of pain before giving Phong a solid kick in the ribs and readying his sword to strike again. He never did, there was an explosion that sounded distressingly familiar and a lot of smoke, and the user fell down screaming.   
  
Phong did a double-take. It hadn't been Epoch that had screamed that first day, just before he crashed into her. It had been the User. He couldn't help laughing at that mixup.   
  
As the User struggled to get up, Epoch threw something at him which resulted in another explosion, and when the smoke cleared, the User was lying flat on his back, dazed.  
  
Smirking, Phong took a step forward, bringing to the user's side. Raising his sword, he thrust it down, directly into the User's chest.  
  
The sky flashed, but instead of turning black, everything went red.   
  
The smile dropped off Phong's face, and he looked around in surprise. Epoch was standing there, holding the strange furry creature in her arms and looking scared.  
  
Phong realized that she had always reset when the sky flashed, and so had never seen it before. He started to tell her not to worry, that this was normal, when a loud voice announced, "Game Over," and everything started to melt.  
  
He glanced down at himself. He was the only thing not melting.   
  
This was wrong.  
  
Epoch was screaming.  
  
This was very wrong.  
  
It wasn't resetting. It was...deleting?  
  
What had he done?  
  
His mind whirled. Why wasn't he melting? What was different about him? He was from outside of the game. He wasn't a gamesprite. He had a different icon than the gamesprites had.  
  
That was it! It must be! Could he fix her icon?  
  
Unclipping his icon He ran over to her and touched it to hers.   
  
"Fix!" He said. Nothing happened.  
  
"Repair! Transform! Copy! Oh for User's sake, do something!" He screamed at it. "Can't you download my non-gamesprite-ness into her icon?"  
  
He blinked. The Icon had flashed at the word download.  
  
He held up his icon and said very clearly, "Download her data into my icon," and doubleclicked it.  
  
And then She was gone.  
  
He looked wildly about. Had it worked? Would it save her? What if he had done the wrong thing? What if she would just have reset, and it was he who would disappear? What if the Game Over was like a system restart, and it was just cleansing anything that didn't belong, like himself? Would it now it would take her with it? What if...?  
  
He never finished that thought.  
  
He was standing in the middle of the system square, With the massive form of a purple Gamecube quickly retreating into the sky.  
  
He looked around, the sky had returned to its normal color, and the square was exactly the way it had been when he had left. Had he left? Suddenly he doubted that any of that had really happened. aybe Gamecubes caused hallucinations?  
  
His vision blurred, and he dropped to his knees. He saw his icon, still clutched in his hand. It shimmered and changed into a Game icon for a nano, then back again. Had he imagined that? Or was it proof that everything he'd experienced had just happened? He pinned it back onto his shirtfront, which he noticed had returned to what he had originally been wearing.   
  
It was the last thing he noticed before everything went black.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The present...  
  
"Ahh." Lore breathed a deep sigh of satisfaction. "Wasn't that great?"  
  
"No!" Backslash replied.  
  
The street was now empty. All the binomes had been deleted, and not a trace of them remained. Only Lore and Backie now stood in the street. Slash was standing on the sidewalk, quietly watching, evidently waiting for a directive.  
  
"No?" Lore said, sounding surprised. He turned to face Backslash, his mask displaying a look of astonishment. "Ah, but Guardian, I have just enriched your life! For what have we in life, if not experiences? Now, you can honestly say that you've experienced something you never had before."  
  
"What about all those Binomes you just deleted?"  
  
Lore switched to an amused expression. "I'm fairly certain that none of them had experienced that before, either."  
  
"This isn't funny!"  
  
"Yeah!" Slash cried. "Not funny."  
  
Both Virus and Guardian turned to stare at him.  
  
"You wanna let the big boys talk?" Lore asked.  
  
Slash hung his head. "Sorry."  
  
"Now, then," Lore said. "Shall I try to top myself, Guardian?"  
  
Backslash removed the small cylinder from his belt. He flipped the small switch on the side, and a blade of solid light sprung forth from the end.  
  
Lore held out his hands. Green lightning crackled between them, taking the form of a scythe. He switched to a grin, and began chanting,  
  
"Silly creature, dressed in blue,  
  
Try to do what you must do.  
  
But know this, friend, you will not win.  
  
Blunder and stumble. Let the fun begin."  
  
He cackled maniacally, swinging down with the curved energy blade.  
  
Backslash parried with his saber, blocking Lore's scythe and countering with a sideways slash, intended to cut Lore off at the waist. Lore jumped back, then stabbed foreward with the butt end of the scythe's shaft, catching Backie in the ribs.   
  
Backslash's armor absorbed most of the impact, but it was still a solid enough blow to knock the wind from him. Lore strode foreward, raising his scythe above his head, preparing the bury the blade in Backie's skull....when a barrage of laser fire caught him full in the face.  
  
Lore fell back with a screech as Slash rolled into the street, cannons emerging from his wrists where his hands had been. One of the guns pulled back into his wrist, to be replaced instantly by his hand. He helped Backslash to his feet.  
  
Lore switched to a scowl, stood, and brushed himself off. Glaring at Slash, he raised his arm and clenched his fist, as though grabbing something in midair.  
  
As he did, the concrete below Slash's wheel flowed like clay, rising up and taking the shape of a massive stone fist, grasping Slash and holding him immobile.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Wait your turn, Tin Man."  
  
A familiar whistling filled the air. Lore spun, raising his hand....just in time to telekinetically stop the flight of five long, sharp spines. AndrAIa stood before him, trident in hand.  
  
"Always with the interruptions," Lore complained. "How can anyone be expected to work under such conditions?"  
  
With a wave of his hand, Lore send the spines flying back at AndrAIa. The Game Sprite dived aside as the toxic barbs ricocheted down the street. Snatching the starfish from her hair, she flung it at the Virus.  
  
Lore laughed. "Do you honestly think you can..." He stopped short, as though puzzled, reached around with his right hand and felt his upper arm. A single, horizontal slice ran across the sleeve of his coat. His long, bony fingers came away stained with energy. "You cut me. You actually cut me." Lore began to giggle, and it quickly grew into full-fledged psychotic laughter.  
  
AndrAIa suddenly found herself being listed up off the concrete by her throat. She clutched at her neck, tryng to break the invisible hold that was cutting off her air supply.  
  
Lore's coat morphed into a massive pair of black, feathered wings, and he flew forward until his face was inches from hers. He ran his foreclaw down her cheek.  
  
"Little Sprite of turquoise hair,  
  
emerald scales and orange hide.  
  
Little Sprite, one has to wonder  
  
what pretty colors lie inside?"  
  
"Get away from her!"  
  
Lore turned. There stood Matrix, Gun leveled at his head.  
  
Lore shook his finger at him. "Now, now....you remember what happened last time you did that."  
  
Matrix shook with anger. "Let her go."  
  
"Okay." Lore made a negligent wave of his hand, and AndrAIa fell to the pavement, gasping for air. Matrix ran to her side. "Are you okay?"  
  
She nodded, hand still massaging her neck.  
  
"Aww. It's a Kodak moment," Lore chuckled.  
  
Matrix whirled, again aiming his Gun at the Virus.  
  
"Tech--containment field!"  
  
Lore was instantly wrapped hear to toe, wing to wing, in pencil-thin tendrils of energy.  
  
Backie lowered his Keytool. "Put away the Gun, Unc--Matrix," he said. "We're supposed to take him processing, remember?"  
  
Matrix didn't react for a moment. He stood frozen, firearm poised to blow off Lore's head. Then he relaxed, holstering Gun. "I remember."  
  
"Come on. Let's get him to the P.O."  
  
The field holding Lore shattered, whips of energy flying everywhere. Lore stretched lazily, then began brushing himself off. "Sorry. Don't think I can make it. I've got plans, you see. So many things to create, so little time."  
  
"Oh, Lore?"  
  
Lore's head came up to see Bob hovering in the air above him. Before he could react, Bob let fly a shower of golden sparks, directly into Lore's face.  
  
Lore screamed, clutching at his mask. With a flash, he vanished into the polished porcelain surface, which went spinning off into the sky.  
  
"After him!" Matrix called, but before the mask had gotten far, it seemed to lose its balance, weaving unsteadily through the air. Matrix's cybernetic eye zoomed in to give him a better view, and as he watched, the outline of the spinning mask blurred, pixelized, and finally, in a flash, transformed into a slim form, wearing black Guardian armor.   
  
Still spinning, it fell to the ground below.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The Past.....  
  
When Phong awoke, he was lying on one of the cots in his uncle's dojo. For the second time that day, he wondered if he had dreamt his whole adventure.   
  
He chided himself, it wasn't a day, it was a cycle.  
  
He sat up and looked around. He wasn't in his own cot. He was in one of the large guest rooms, and he could hear his uncle's voice and a few others on the other side of one of the paneled paper walls to his left.  
  
Realizing that he was the topic of the hushed discussion, he listened intently.  
  
"I don't understand."  
  
"Well, were all glad that we got at least one of them back."  
  
"He's the only one?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Didn't that stranger...what's his name...Say that no one ever returned from those box thingies?"  
  
"Yeah, but I'm not going to complain about him being wrong."   
  
Phong smiled, recognizing his Uncle's voice.  
  
"Is it true that the place where we found him was the only box that left without destroying anything?" (Another familiar voice...possibly one of the older students of the dojo)  
  
"Amazing, isn't it?"  
  
"But still, do you think he'll ever wake up?"  
  
"He's been out for almost three cycles."   
  
"Did the Command.Com find out what's wrong with him?"  
  
"Not yet. I'm expecting a vidwindow soon with the results of the scan," his uncle replied. "After that binome couple found him, he seemed pretty torn up, that box was there for almost two cycles. It's amazing that he survived."  
  
"We don't know that for sure yet."  
  
Phong heard the familiar sound of a vidwindow opening.  
  
"Ah there it is, what did I tell you?" his uncle's voice said.  
  
He recognized the command.com's voice. The vidwindow was quieter than the people speaking had been, and he had to strain to hear it.  
  
It was saying that his energy was low, but that commadore thought that he could...  
  
And that it just needed... and to bring him to the Principle Pffice for...  
  
Phong stopped trying to hear after that. He wasn't learning anything, just getting frustrated.  
  
Shortly thereafter, the transmission ended and the vidwindow closed with its signature 'zip' sound. He heard footsteps, and his uncle entered the room. He looked surprised to see Phong awake.  
  
"Oh thank the User, how are you feeling?"  
  
Phong contemplated actually thanking the User, after all the times the User had tried to delete him.  
  
"Phong?"  
  
He realized that he hadn't answered. "I'm alright. A bit tired."  
  
"Well don't worry, Commadore has learned what's wrong, and can make you all better in no time."   
  
"So...what is wrong?" he asked, exasperated, when his uncle made it clear that it hadn't occurred to him to volunteer any more information.  
  
"Oh, well, I'm unsure of the exact details. You can ask Commadore when your feeling better."  
  
After a small argument, and Phong's assurances that he could walk just fine, they set off for the Principal Office, his uncle as well as a number of other students hovering around him as if he was going to break.   
  
He was finding it increasingly annoying, and told them so, which only made things worse. By the time they got to the principle office he was ready to start lashing out at them all.  
  
Thankfully, Commadore came out to meet them as they were approaching the door, and he seemed willing to treat Phong like a person rather than a crystallized energy sculpture.  
  
"Come in, come in, so glad you could make it." He was ushered inside. Commadore's jovial roar made it sound like he was attending a party rather than an unknown procedure.  
  
"So...what's wrong with me?"  
  
"Ah, well, do you know that you are the only sprite that has been caught in one of those purple boxes and come out again?"  
  
"Yes, I overheard uncle talking about it. And they're called Gamecubes."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes. Remember? The sprite that was here ages ago said that was the name for them."  
  
Comadore paled a little, everyone was aware that it had been his idea to send that sprite away.  
  
"But you still haven't told me...," Phong began.  
  
"Yes of course. Well, it seems that your data has gotten partially corrupted while you were under the box…err, Gamecube. But since most of your data is still alright, we can just use the uncorrupted data in your system to get rid of the corruption."  
  
Phong stopped walking. "You cant do that."  
  
"Of course we can, my boy."  
  
"No," he paused trying to work out how to explain that it was Epoch that was stored in his code, not some kind of corruption. "When the gamecube landed, I was transported into the Gameworld. It's completely different from the System. And anyway, there are people there and..."  
  
"Nonsense, lad," cut in Commadore, "The gamecubes are hardly large enough to fit entire worlds inside. I'm sure it was just a dream."  
  
"I considered that, but it wasn't. I made friends with one of the people in the game, and when the game started to dissolve I loaded her data into my icon to stop her from dissolving too."  
  
One of the students snickered. "Oh, so it was a girl you were dreaming about."  
  
"NO!" He cried. "Her name is Epoch, and she's a person, a Sprite, same as we are, from inside the Game. Not some kind of corrupt data. Purging her data would be like deleting her. You can't do that, there must be some other way."  
  
His uncle looked at him sternly. "You do realize that if you aren't fixed soon, you could be delourself? This is quite a story you are asking us to believe. Are you sure you want to take that risk?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then I trust your judgement."  
  
"You can't honestly be accepting the child's nonsense," Commadore growled. "He's corrupted, and delusional, and I wont have an unreasonable deletion on my conscience because of some half-baked imagining."  
  
Uncle rounded on the Command.com. "Now see here, I've raised phong since he was .2. He has always proven himself to be a rational and responsible young sprite, and if he says there's another sprite that we have to save and that he's willing to risk his own code to save hers, then I believe him."  
  
Commadore bristled, but then gave in. "Fine. I'll scan him for any proof of what he says, but if it turns out to be nonsense like I'm sure it is, then we're purging him. Got it?"  
  
Both Phong and his uncle nodded agreement to the compromise.  
  
* * *  
  
It was five cycles later, and Phong felt like he just might welcome deletion.  
  
He was lying on a table in an empty room in the principle office. He had been poked, prodded, scanned, screened and examined in more ways than he had previously thought possible.   
  
But it had proved effective. They had finally had to admit that what he told them, at least as far as the separate code in his Icon went, was true, and had started working on a means to extract it undamaged.  
  
One of the binomes working at the Principle Office had just been in to tell him that they thought they had found a way. He was relieved to hear this, and would go to the room that they would use for the procedure, just as soon as he could muster the energy to do so. Taking a deep breath, he struggled to his feet, but, once again, his surroundings dimmed and he felt himself falling.  
  
When he awoke, he was lying in the cot in his room in the dojo. He was exhausted, disoriented by the change in surroundings, and starting to get terribly peeved by the fact that his surroundings changed every time he fell asleep.  
  
One of the younger students entered, took one look at him, and ran out of the room.  
  
He muttered to himself about people seeing ghosts and unfriendly greetings. The kid's reaction was just starting to worry him, when his uncle walked in, followed by the student, Who quipped, "see, I told you he was awake."  
  
"Why, so he is. It's been quite a while. Do you realize, Phong, that you have been asleep for over thirteen cycles?"  
  
Phong shook his head. At this rate, the next time he slept he just might wake up and be 2.0.   
  
Pushing that notion to the back of his mind, he inquired about Epoch, who it turned out, was still processing, if only barely. Apparently, her code was seriously degraded, probably as an affect of having melted so far before he figured out how to save her. Whatever the reason, it was that degradation which had been making him sick, because her code was trying to use his to repair itself. Everyone assured him that he would get better now that they were separated.  
  
Epoch was presently in an energy cell, which, one of Commadore's assistants, carefully explained to Phong, was because in her condition, she wouldn't survive outside. She wasn't conscious, but they were looking for ways to repair her.  
  
There was something strange though...there had been something else which had escaped when they extracted her code, which had instantly disappeared.   
  
Phong had a good notion of what it was, which went a long way to explaining why the next time he was seen, he was in the Principle Office, and had been, for quite some time, wandering up and down the corridors, babbling about furballs.  
  
It was Apple who found him first, and after listening to a rather odd explanation, joined Phong in walking up and down the PO's corridors, whistling and babbling about furballs.   
  
After a while uncle went looking for the both of them.  
  
Then one of the dojo students.  
  
Then the student's parents.  
  
By the time the missing people caught Commadore's notice, the Principle Office was absolutely crawling with sprites and binomes all babbling about furballs and periodically whistling.  
  
He started yelling at them all, his voice booming over the intercom, ordering them to immediately stop and explain themselves.  
  
Every single person did so, slowly and patiently.  
  
And Commadore promptly sent them all home and locked the doors, all the while mumbling about furballs and nonsense.  
  
And then he tripped over one.  
  
It was small and cute and fluffy, with two large crystalline eyes and one long piggish snout, and it had squeaked when he trod on it.  
  
He yelled at it too.  
  
The next morning he handed it to Phong in a box, and asked, "Is this what you and all those people were looking for?"  
  
Phong opened the box, and peeked inside. "Yes, this is it."  
  
The creature purred and leapt onto his head, where it curled up and immediately went to sleep.  
  
"What is it?" Asked Commadore, who after stepping on it and telling at it, had had to chase it down three levels before he could catch and box it.  
  
"I don't know, shrugged Phong. "But I do know it's from the game."  
  
And he took it home with him.  
  
* * *  
  
At first Uncle was worried that it might be dangerous, but after getting Phong to describe in detail all about the creature and how he knew about it, and also anything else he could think to ask about the world of the Game, he made a suggestion.  
  
Phong agreed that it was worth a try, and, quite surprisingly, so did Commadore.  
  
Being that the furry creature was from the Game, just like Epoch, they blended its code into her own to fill in the bits that had, as Phong put it, melted.  
  
It turned out that the furball, too, was suffering from deterioration, but since it had a less complex code, it wasn't showing the same signs that the Epoch was.  
  
They succeeded in fixing the holes in her code, but ran into another problem. It seemed that the System compression sweeps weren't willing to accept her. They had started doing sweeps, one sector at a time, and Commadore informed everyone gravely that if she were to be in one of these sectors when that happened, then she would be viewed as unformatted clutter and deleted anyway.  
  
The sweeps were getting steadily more frequent as a result of the damage that the continuing stream of Games was causing. And, although the PO hadn't been swept yet, it was only a matter of time.  
  
Phong opted to put her back into his icon for safekeeping, now that she wasn't going to cause him any more damage.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The Present...  
  
"This way," Bob said, leading the way through the tall grass.   
  
"I remember this place," Backie said, as the group made their way through the field, searching for the fallen Guardian. "This is the field where we first found..."  
  
The part stopped abruptly. There, lying on the ground, unconscious, was Jareth, the original Jareth, clothed in dyed-black Guardian armor.  
  
"Vuja de," Backie whispered. He knelt down, and using Tech, did a quick scan. "He doesn't seem to have been hurt too badly by the fall. He's just out cold."  
  
Bob knelt next to him, raising his hands. Soft, warm, golden light began to shine from his palms, playing over the User-Guardian's body. Jareth stirred.  
  
"Erm? Hey..." He sat up, blinking groggily. "Why am I?"  
  
"You mean, where are you?" Backie asked.  
  
"No, I mean, why am I? The last thing I remember was recombining with Lore. I should be safely tucked away inside my Viral Guardian self's psyche. Instead I'm here."  
  
Backslash helped Jareth to his feet.  
  
"Thanks. So, if I'm here, does this mean Lore's on the loose again?"  
  
The others exchanged a glance.   
  
"Let's go back to the P.O., Jareth," Bob suggested. "Phong can explain all this best."  
  
"Yeah, we don't really understand what's going on, either," Matrix added.  
  
Jareth nodded. "Okay. And maybe he can answer one more question for me while he's at it."  
  
"What's that?" Backie asked.  
  
Jareth held up his right Bracer, upon which sat a strangely designed Keytool. "What am I doing with BuBBleJet? Where's Electra?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Ah, yes," Phong said, checking his scans. "I see the problem now."  
  
"Well? What is it?" Dot asked.  
  
Jareth listened vaguely, evidently still dealing with the news about Electra. He picked up a small object from the table and began fiddling with it listlessly.  
  
"It appears that combining with another file format is not as smooth a process as we thought," Phong replied. "Jareth and Lore did not combine properly, and the codes are fighting for dominance. Bob's attempt to defragment Lore seems to have shifted the tide, as it were, in favor of Jareth, forcing Lore into remission. For the time being."  
  
"So what happens now?" AndrAIa asked.  
  
"I believe I can stabilize his--"  
  
Phong stopped, startled, as Jarth's hand came down, a razor-sharp scalpel cluched in its grasp. Matrix hand shot forward, catching Jareth's arm before he could stab the elderly Sprite.  
  
"Jareth! What's wrong with you?" he asked.  
  
"I..." Jareth stared at his own hand in surprise. "I don't know why I did that."  
  
Phong gently took the scalpel from Jareth and returned it to the supply cabinet.  
  
Everyone in the room was staring at the User now, keeping his or her disance.  
  
Backslash spoke up. "I think the traits are crossing over."  
  
"What?"   
  
"Lore kept lapsing into User-speak. Using words like 'blood' and flesh'...do those mean what I think they do, by the way?" Jareth nodded. "Just checking. Anyway, I think some of Jareth's traits crossed over to Lore, and vice versa."  
  
"So I got his impulse to stab things. Joy."  
  
"As I was saying," Phong continued. "I believe I can stabilize his code. It will take some time, however, to modify the Principal Office's equipment."  
  
"Meantime, why not finish your story, Phong?" Dot suggested.  
  
Phong glanced at Chu.  
  
"You might as well," she said. "You're almost to the end anyway."   
  
* * *  
  
The past...  
  
It had been over two seconds since the Games had started to fall. They had caused massive damage in that time. Almost two thirds of the System had been damaged so badly that it was no longer considered habitable. Phong was now a permanent member of the Principle Office staff, all of whom were working steadily more frantically to find a way to stem the mass destruction. Most of the population was gone. The sky was now a permanent swirling dark gray, and in the last few cycles the frequency of the falling Gamecubes had doubled. He still carried the unconscious Gamesprite in his Icon; they had never found a way to make her System-compatible, and after a while they had far more pressing concerns to deal with than one lone sprite.  
  
Phong walked amongst the rubble of what had once been the system square. The fountain was now cracked in many places. The sparkling energy was long gone, and there were charred spots and fracture lines crisscrossing the ground. He knew that people weren't supposed to go outside unless absolutely necessary, but this had been his favorite place in all of the System before the Gamecubes came. He still found the quiet relaxing. Despite the damage, it was still better outside, away from the sense of doom and muted horror and despair that had settled over most of the remaining population of system.  
  
And anyway, it might comfort some of the binomes to be told they were safer in their homes, but he knew better than to think that anywhere was more protected than anywhere else.  
  
Despite debating the point for many cycles, the ruling council never had worked out why it was that Epoch's Game was the only Gamecube that had left peacefully, or returned its victim. He had insisted to them that it was because he had killed the user. But they found that a bit far fetched.  
  
A fact that he had to laugh at, considering some of the reasons that they had come up with before they banned him from watching their meetings.  
  
Everything from electrostatic whorls to the idea that there were mystical LAN lines flowing around the fountain that were protecting it. That one had been given up when the second Gamecube that landed on the fountain blew it to rubble, along with a small group of Binommes who had subscribed to the LAN line theory and set up tents in and around the fountain.  
  
Considering how long they had spent bickering and messing up the square, he wasn't really all that sorry for them.  
  
The sirens were going again. He wondered how long they would last this time. Some of the boys at the dojo had started betting, on that as well as on which sector would be hit next. He had a good sense for it, and a long win streak, so they weren't betting against him any more.   
  
He wondered about that. Maybe it was because of the time he had spent in the game. He sat down with his back against a large chunk of the fountain wall, and opened a notepad window. Writing was relaxing, and he though maybe Epoch would enjoy reading about what had happened while she was asleep...Even if he did have a tendency to writ haikus rather than actual journal entries.  
  
This time it was about one of the cobblestones, which was reflecting in a most interesting way, but he couldn't quite get it right. He was so focused on the pebble at his feet that he completely failed to notice the third gamecube descending on System square until it touched the ground with a whoosh.  
  
* * *  
  
Everything was black, but for once he felt certain that it had absolutely nothing to do with his vision.  
  
He scrutinized the room in which he was in and decided it was rather poor, as far as accommodations went. The room was large, black and square, and he had no trouble at all believing that this one could fit inside the vicious purple box that had fallen on him.   
  
He walked around it a couple times. It had a large clear window in the middle that stretched between the floor, ceiling, and two of the walls, bisecting the room neatly and cutting off his access to the other side of the room. On the side that he could examine, he found a small rectangular shelf with a raised even cross and a small oval in the middle, and he could dimly see one just like it on the far side. But that was it, no doors, nothing else but the window and the shelf.  
  
He circled the room a couple more times, then stopped again at the shelf. He climbed up onto it to get a better look. Who knew? Maybe there would be something written on it that he had missed. As he righted himself, however, his heel tapped the raised cross and the shelf lurched. He scrambled to keep his balance, then looked around warily for anything else that he might have set off. Nothing happened. It was absolutely silent, save for the sound of his own breathing. After a few more nanos of furtive glares at the wall and window, he went back to looking at the shelf beneath his feet, which he was beginning to suspect was actually a platform. He cautiously tapped the cross again and once again the platform lurched. He tapped again and nothing happened. Had he broken it?  
  
No, that wasn't it. He had tapped it in the center that time. The other two times it had been one of the edges. Yes, that made sense. He tapped each edge in turn, gradually learning how to operate the platform. This was all well and good, but it wasn't helping him get out of the room. He examined the oval that was the only other thing on the platform. It actually did have writing on it. It said START.   
  
He puzzled over that for a while, but as he couldn't make heads or tails of it, he decided to tap that too.  
  
Suddenly music started playing and a disembodied voice announced,  
  
ROUND ONE   
  
LEVEL ONE  
  
And someone appeared on the other side of the room.  
  
Phong stared at him, and groaned. The User. He was dressed differently, and was holding some sort of orb, but that lunatic plastic grin was unmistakable.  
  
As he watched the User mounted the platform on his own side.  
  
The User threw the orb.  
  
It shot right through the window withought resistance and Straight at Phong, who gasped. He was attacking him again. Phong jumped off his platform.  
  
He landed with a thud, just as the voice stated:  
  
ROUND TWO  
  
LEVEL ONE  
  
Nothing moved  
  
After a while, Phong realized that they were waiting for him to get back onto his platform, and, seeing nothing else he could do, he complied.  
  
START  
  
This time, when the orb came hurtling towards him, he hit the cross and neatly dodged out of its way. It hit the wall behind him and disappeared, reappearing in the users hands.  
  
LEVEL ONE COMPLETED  
  
ROUND ONE  
  
LEVEL TWO  
  
Phong wondered if he was supposed to just let it hit him. Shrugging, he decided it was worth a try and braced himself.  
  
To his surprise, it bounced off of his shoulder painlessly, with a bing sound, and went flying back towards the User, who also placed himself directly in its path, bouncing itback at Phong. He was too surprised by this to react, and it went whizzing over his head.  
  
The voice came again,  
  
ROUND TWO  
  
LEVEL TWO  
  
He couldn't decide if that was supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing, so started alternating dodging and getting hit.  
  
By the time the voice announced LEVEL EIGHT COMPLETED, he had gotten quite good at both. The User had been looking steadily more annoyed as the game progressed through the levels.  
  
Phong straightened and waited for the orb to come at him again, but nothing happened.  
  
After a moment the User jumped off of his platform and walked over to the window.  
  
Ah, probably to congratulate me for working it out, thought Phong, who followed suit and walked up to the window to accept the User's apology.  
  
The User held up his hand and writing appeared on the window. It said CHANGE OPPONENT.  
  
Then the User walked back and remounted his platform.  
  
A bit put out by this, Phong retreated to his own and climbed up, and waited. And waited.  
  
The writing on the window was still there, and Phong started to fume. How was he supposed to change opponents? There was no one else there. And it wasn't as if he could just make people appear the way he and the user had. Or could he?  
  
He still had Epoch stored in his icon and this was a Game, so....why not?  
  
He tapped his Icon. "Upload--Epoch."  
  
And she appeared in front of him, blinking in confusion.  
  
He quickly summarized everything that had happened since leaving her Gamecube. And mentally applauded her for accepting it all with relative equanimity.  
  
"And he asked for me to play? But I don't know this game."  
  
"That's ok. Neither do I."  
  
"Just stand on the platform and move around."  
  
She gave him an incredulous look, then tapped her left arm and grinned. "Oh, I get it."  
  
He seriously doubted that, but asked anyway. "Get what?"  
  
"How to play the game."  
  
She held up the small device on her wrist, which was blinking and spinning excitedly.  
  
That was right, her datastreamer. It gave info about what she, as a Gamesprite, needed to do to interact with the User.  
  
She explained as she climbed onto the platform and hit the start oval, which she pointed out was actually a button.  
  
ROUND ONE  
  
LEVEL NINE  
  
"The idea is to try to hit the opponent's wall with the ball, while stopping him from doing the same to yours by placing yourself in between your wall and the ball."  
  
She ducked reflexively and covered her face as the ball came her way. It struck the wall behind her.  
  
ROUND TWO  
  
LEVEL NINE  
  
"Umm...Not like that. I figure that There are ten levels. If the ball hits our wall twice, then the User moves up a level. If it hits the User's wall twice in one level, then the User loses and the game ends."  
  
The ball bounced back and forth between Epoch and the User a number of times, making its bing bong sound each time it struck one of them, then skidded under the User's platform and reappeared in Epoch's hands.   
  
ROUND THREE  
  
LEVEL NINE   
  
Phone hadn't realized that it did that.  
  
After another speed volley, the voice announced level nine to be completed.  
  
Then round one, level ten quickly followed by round two, level ten. Phong hadn't managed to keep track of who had scored that last time, and when the next hit was against Epoch's wall, he almost fainted. But then, the voice announced a third round, and he realized that round one had been hers.  
  
The round seemed to go on forever. Both Epoch and the User seemed to be giving it their all. The User seemed to be tiring; his movements were starting to grow sluggish. But then, he sent it zooming up to the top of her wall while she was still at the bottom. She stomped on the far edge of her cross button and sped towards it. She reached out and just barely grazed it with the tips of her fingers. It spun for a moment, then very slowly arced back into her wall.  
  
The disembodied voice announced,  
  
LEVEL TEN COMPLETE  
  
USER WINS  
  
And everything went out of control.   
  
The music started again, and the room went from black to green to red to yellow and started flashing in steadily faster rainbows, everything was spinning, there was the sound of explosions, the User seemed to be dancing, Epoch was screaming but he couldn't hear her over all the other noises, she was talking to him and then the User was shaking his hand and then it disappeared and Phong felt his body tingling, he looked down and saw sparkles flying off of him and thought with horror, this time I'm the one melting. It really is deletion for me this time it…he was almost completely transparent now  
  
"Help me, Epoch...someone..."  
  
And then suddenly, everything was quiet. The room was back to normal.  
  
Black walls, hovering platforms...there was the User standing on the other side of the window on his own platform, waiting expectantly.  
  
And Epoch standing in front of him.  
  
And someone else, that hadn't been there before.  
  
The stranger looked at Phong, then at Epoch.  
  
"This is the sprite you were talking about?"  
  
"Yes, it is."  
  
"And he's a System sprite, not a Gamesprite?"  
  
"Check the icon."  
  
The stranger looked Phong over, his eyes stopping on his icon.  
  
"Ok. I believe you."  
  
He turned and mounted the platform on the wall, and began a fierce volley against the User, who looked different than Phong remembered.  
  
He looked at Epoch. "What's going on? Who is that? Didn't the user win? Why is he still here?"  
  
She threw her arms in the air. "Hey, one question at a time. That sprite over there is Echo Matrix. He's something called a Guardian, apparently, they are trained to play games. He says that when a Guardian stops the User from winning the Game it stops the Gamecube from doing any damage."  
  
"I knew it!" Phong grinned.  
  
"Um...anyway the user did win, and you told me that you saved me before by loading my data into your icon? Well, I returned the favor. This is a different User. The twelfth different one, in fact."  
  
"Twelve Users? How long was I out for?"  
  
"Quite a long time."  
  
"I've beaten a couple of the Users, but then new ones just take their place. There have been other people playing too, when I beat the User, they disappear. Echo says that that's because I'm a game sprite. When I win, I go with the Game, but they stay in the System. He's the first Guardian I have ever met though. No one else ever understood what was happening."  
  
"So I'll go back to my System?"  
  
"Well, actually, no. You'll go to Echo's System Mainframe when he wins, because that's where the Gamecube is right now." She looked embarrassed. "It's been a very long time, Phong, unless your System's residents figured out how to beat the Gamecubes, they might not have survived."  
  
"Even uncle?"  
  
"He'd be very old by now."  
  
"So why am I the same age?"  
  
"Because you don't age when you're in stasis in an Icon."  
  
"But what about you?" He looked at her. Her clothes had changed, she was now dressed like the User on the other side of the room, as was the sprite Echo, but other than that she seemed to be the same age.  
  
"Why aren't you much old--"  
  
Just then the disembodied voice broke in.  
  
"GAME OVER."   
  
Epoch took a step backwards and waved farewell, smiling.  
  
Abruptly, Phong was standing in the middle of a city of some kind, watching the retreating form of the Gamecube.  
  
Standing a few feet away was Echo, who was now wearing blue armor that Phong found strangely familiar. Epoch was nowhere in sight.  
  
"Where's Epoch?"  
  
Echo walked over and put his hand on Phong's shoulder. "She left with the Game."  
  
"What?"  
  
"She's a Game Sprite, she belongs in the Game. So it took her with it."  
  
** *  
  
Epoch smiled. It was good to know that he had gotten out safely. That he would be able to live outside and not face the deterioration of losing Games to the Users.  
  
She looked around, waiting for the new User. After all, she wouldn't be conscious again unless the Game had landed somewhere new, and that meant a User had dropped it there.  
  
Aha, there he was. Make that SHE was. This User was female.  
  
She wondered if there would be a challenger this time. Sometimes, there wasn't. And she occasionally played when that happened, or when the imported challengers were too confused or scared to play.  
  
There was a shimmer in the middle of the room. That must be the new opponent. Maybe it would be another Guardian, they often stopped to speak to her once she managed to assure them that she wasn't a threat, and they had been getting more common recently.  
  
The shimmer solidified into a sprite.  
  
Well, he was wearing armor, but the Guardian armor was blue, this sprite's was black with silver engravings.  
  
He looked at her and grinned. "Wanna play?"  
  
She smiled back. "Actually, your playing against him," she indicated the user.  
  
"Aw," he pouted, "but Users are oh so very boring. And anyway, he's on the other side of that wall. Not at all sporting of him." He giggled.  
  
Epoch shrugged. "Yes, well neither is trapping me in this room for eternity."  
  
He looked startled. "This bothers you? Why? Don't you like it here?"  
  
"Not especially. This isn't my Game, you see."  
  
"No? Then how, pray tell, did you get here?"  
  
"I was brought here in the Icon of a System Sprite."  
  
"That can be done?" His eyes lit up at the idea.  
  
She blinked. They had lit up literally, his eyes were glowing a soft golden.  
  
His expression turned somber. "So if that can be done, why haven't you left here?"  
  
She sighed. "Because System Sprites that have learned to play the Games are all scared of Game Sprites. And those who haven't belong to Systems that will probably crash in only a few seconds. And being trapped in one of those is even worse than being here."  
  
He smirked. "Well, in that case, I propose a trade."  
  
"What sort of trade?"  
  
He tapped his icon, "I recently acquired this nifty accessory from a former playmate. You teach me how to use these things for interesting tricks, like Gamesprite transport, and I'll take you with me when I leave."  
  
Epoch thought about it for a while, then nodded.   
  
"Wonderful! I knew I liked you."  
  
So she explained all that she knew about Icons and their uses, as well as careful instructions on not downloading anything that was damaged. Then, he clicked his own, and she disappeared in a swirl of light. As soon as she had completely vanished he stepped through the window and neatly sliced the User into small, bite-sized pieces.  
  
* * *  
  
The man in the black armor leaned back and idly watched the retreating purple base of the gamecube. That had been fun. That Icon thing was proving to be far more useful that he had expected.  
  
That reminded him. He gave it a sharp tap, and a young female appeared in front of him.  
  
She looked about herself as if expecting something to attack. She probably wasn't far off.  
  
He performed a sweeping bow. "Welcome to Acer, my dear. Home sweet home."  
  
"And they don't perform System Scans here?"  
  
He almost collapsed laughing. "No, I don't think the residents would appreciate that."  
  
She looked relieved.  
  
Hmph, all the threats here and that was what she was worrying about? He shrugged. "Unfamiliar place," he said. "You care to stick with me for a while? I'll give you a guided tour."  
  
She smiled, "Yes, please. By the way, I'm Epoch."  
  
"A pleasure," He curtseyed this time. "Epaeon at your service." And guided her off down the winding streets.  
  
She didn't stay there long, after a while she heard mention of a place called Mainframe, a name that she recognized. Apparently it was dual-cored, and coveted among the virals because of that. It was also well protected. There were more Guardians there than anywhere other than the Supercomputer. And the virals were planning a sneak attack.  
  
She wasn't really interested in the attack, but she convinced them to let her tag along. After all, it was going to be fun to watch. There were a number of viruses that were going to go along, purely as spectators and mischief-makers. What was one more?  
  
The trip involved a series of hops between different Systems. They never knew what hit them. But after a while, they drew the attention of the Guardian collective. One cycle, without warning, they attacked en mass, many of the virals were wiped out, most fled back to Acer. in the end she was the only one that made it. The only one that wasn't hunted or attacked. After all, she wasn't a virus, she was just a poor innocent sprite. And no matter how many scans or tests they ran on her at the checkpoints, no one could disprove that. Even if there was something wrong with her icon.  
  
The funny thing was that when she did finally make it to Mainframe, it was purely by accident. She had been captured by a particularly stubborn Guardian who was set on proving that she was a virus, somehow or other. He was just stopping off in Mainframe to deliver a message to the dual Command.Coms before going back to the Supercomputer and placing her somewhere contained.  
  
In the meantime, however, Phong had acclimatized to his new system remarkably well. His previous experience in his own P.O. served him well, and he quickly became a trusted member of Mainframe's Principle Office staff.   
  
Therefore, seconds later, when current Command.Com, eventually passed away, he was considered best capable of handling the responsibilities of the position.  
  
And although still young, he was very dedicated, and with the help of Mirror, the Command.Com of the other city, he was handling everything smoothly and efficiently.  
  
Until the Guardian appeared with Epoch in tow.  
  
He had given up thinking he would ever see her again, only shortly after he had come to terms with the fact that he would never return to System. It had been a number of seconds since then, she belonged to what amounted to a different life.  
  
And yet.  
  
"Epoch?"  
  
She looked up, and her eyes grew wide.  
  
"Oh, my...Phong is that you?"  
  
The guardian seemed taken aback. "You know this virus sir?"  
  
Phong blinked. "Virus? That's not a virus. She's a sprite, an old friend."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Do you have any proof that she's a virus?"  
  
"Not yet, but...once I get her back to the Supercomputer, I'll be able to prove..."  
  
"Don't be silly, she's a sprite. And you can save yourself the trouble and just leave her here."  
  
"But...but..."  
  
"Now what was the message you were to give me?"  
  
The guardian stuttered for a moment, then helplessly shook his head, handed over a small package and slowly walked out the door as if in a daze.  
  
Phong returned his attention to the girl that had been left in his office.  
  
"Epoch, I never expected you to get out of that Game...if I'd known that it would take you with it, I would have loaded you back into my icon. Mainframe doesn't scan nearly as often as System did, and I looked into ways to stop the scans from deleting outsiders. Mainframe has a registration system and, oh you were right about System, I had the Guardians check it out for me, its been offline for seconds and...and..." He took a deep breath, "I did miss you, you know."  
  
She smiled, "I missed you, too. I wondered if I had done the right thing by leaving you to that Guardian."  
  
"Oh, nono, you had no reason to worry about that, Echo was a good choice, he and his wife Mirror are wonderful people. After I got here they took me in, almost as one of there own children. Everyone here has been very good to me."  
  
"I'm glad to hear that."  
  
"But what about you, Epoch? What happened, how did you get out of the Game?"  
  
"I hitched a ride on a friendly virus."  
  
"A friendly Virus?"  
  
She grinned. "They've been surprisingly nice to me, considering."  
  
"Considering that you are prey to them? No wonder that Guardian thought you were viral."  
  
She chuckled and conceded the point. "By the way, I'm called Chu now."  
  
He looked at her curiously. "Why Chu?"  
  
She pulled up her right sleeve, revealing a neat little row of those mouse-shaped explosives that she had used on the User in her own world. "They're called chus, and after I blasted a few of the more agressive viruses with them, so was I. I've kinda gotten used to the name."  
  
He shrugged amicably and then waved his arms in an expansive motion.  
  
"Very well, then, Chu, welcome to Mainframe."  
  
After that, Phong registered her as a resident and Chu made her home in Mainframe. She tried to open a new weapon shop, but that was amazingly unsuccessful, and after a few other failed business attempts, she finally settled on a cozy little diner. And she was quite happy with that.  
  
She lived in Mainframe for many seconds before she was again interrupted.  
  
It was a Codemaster's fault. He had come strolling into the System one day, not even looking for her. It had just been a passing comment in front of one of the early morning customers...About her being from a game.  
  
But that was enough. Now he was scared of her. He had known her for seconds, hung out at her diner after school when he was a child, and later for coffee after work, and now, suddenly he was scared of her.  
  
It hurt, but there was nothing she could do about it. She had to leave before he felt threatened enough to tell the rest of Mainframe.  
  
So, she sold the diner to one of the more promising young people, said a sad goodbye to her friend Phong, and stepped unnoticed into the next outgoing portal.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
The present...  
  
"And I've been roaming the Net ever since," Chu finished. "System to System, up and down the dial."  
  
"Sounds like fun," AndrAIa said.   
  
"It's a living," Chu replied. She tilted her head. "You're a Gamesprite, too, aren't you?"  
  
"That's right."  
  
"You would be welcome to stay in Mainframe now, old friend," Phong said, as he tinkered with a small device. "Game Sprites are no longer feared as they once were."  
  
Chu considered for a moment. "Thanks, but I find I enjoy life on the road."  
  
"If that is what you wish."  
  
"Oh, I'll stick around for a while. Just not for good."  
  
With a snap, the final component fell into place. "it is done," Phong said. "Are you ready, my child?"  
  
Jareth hopped down off the bench. "Yup." He looked around. "So long, guys. Phong, Dot, Backie. With any luck, I'll never see any of you again."  
  
Backie cocked his head, looking at the User strangely.  
  
Jareth waved the look aside. "You know what I mean."   
  
Phong aimed the emiter at the end of the device at Jareth's Icon.  
  
"Hold still."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
"You sure you're okay?" AndrAIa asked.  
  
"Never better," Delta replied. Then she winced. "Okay, so I was better before I had the massive scorch mark across my abdomen..."  
  
"I SAID I was sorry," Matrix said. 'What more do you want?"  
  
"I can give you a list, if you want to make it up to me..."  
  
"I'm sorry, but not THAT sorry."  
  
As a group, the party walked out of the P.O...and stopped short. Amassed in front of the building was a group of Binomes, ones and zeroes, all of which let out angry screams as the Sprites exited the P.O.  
  
It wasn't hard to tell at whom the screams were aimed. If the cries of 'Viral menace' hadn't tipped them off, then the signs, emblazoned with black masks covered with red slashes, would have.  
  
"Jareth," Bob said quietly. "Just ignore them."  
  
"Ignore who." Jareth's mask was expressionless. "Come on, I want another sundae."  
  
The Binomes drew away, either in disgust, fear, or some combination of the two, as they walked through the crowd.  
  
"So, Chu," Dot began. "Do you have a place to stay, or--"  
  
THWACK!  
  
"Oww!" Jareth clutched at the back of his head.  
  
"Jareth? What--"  
  
"Eh!" Jareth raised a hand, silencing Backie's questions. He glanced at the ground.  
  
A chunk of concrete lay at his feet, stained red.   
  
Jareth withdrew his hand from the back of his head and looked at it. His hand, too, was stained with his own blood.  
  
"Someone just threw a rock at me."  
  
"How like Someone," Delta said, examining the back of his head.  
  
Bob started to step forward, but Jareth held him back.  
  
"Nono...no, thank you, Bob. I think these people want to speak to me."  
  
"All right...just....don't hurt them," Bob replied.   
  
"Much," Delta ammended.  
  
"Okay, people," Jareth said, arms outstretched. "What's up?"  
  
A barrage of rocks came his way, only to halt midair before him.   
  
"Yeah, that's what I thought you were gonna say. Is this about all those Binomes Lore killed?"  
  
"You--" one of the Binomes began, accusingly.  
  
"Am not Lore. I remember killing those Binomes. And I remember enjoying it." He shook his head. "But I'm not the one who did it. I'm the one keeping that person locked away, and you should all be thanking me."  
  
With that, the rocks fell to the ground, and Jareth turned on his heel and continued on his way towards the Diner.   
  
The others followed.   
  
The group of Binomes stood silent for a moment.   
  
One of them kicked sullenly at the ground. Suddenly, a sparkling object on the ground caught his eye. He pounced on it, then held it up to the light. A marble? No, it was definitely some sort of crystal ball, about two inches in diameter.   
  
Smiling, he tucked it into his pocket. It was bound to be worth something.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
About halfway to the Diner, AndrAIa finally spoke up.  
  
"You know, I'm proud of you, Jareth. That was very big of you," AndrAIa said. "I actually kind of expected you to blow them all up."  
  
Jareth shrugged. "Well, you know...Even I had to grow up sometime."  
  
No sooner were the words spoken then a massive explosion echoed through the air.  
  
Everyone but Jareth turned back to see the plume of smoke spiralling towards the sky in the distance.   
  
Dot glared sharply at the Viral Guardian. "Jareth!"  
  
Jareth switched to a grin, and continued walking. "Well, what do you know. Guess it's not that time yet." 


	13. Earth's Rise

Author's Note: One more chapter to go....I think I can I think I can I think I can...  
  
The Viral Guardian Series  
  
Chapter 12: Earth's Revenge  
  
Winter had finally come to Mainframe. Everywhere you looked, Binomes and Sprites alike were bundled up in heavy coats, wandering to and fro, dusting snow from their shoulders whenever they ventured indoors. More than a few people were walking around, arms piled high with presents. Ever since the concept of Christmas had been introduced, it had become a favrotie holiday, and the people of Mainframed were looking forward to sitting around their fireplaces on Christmas morning, exchanging presents with loved ones.  
  
Sadly, however, the holiday cheer was not shared by everyone.   
  
With a frustrated swipe of his mechanical arm, Welman sent all the beakers, bottle, and other equipment crashing from the table to the floor.  
  
"Is there a problem, old friend?" Phong asked, motoring into the room.  
  
"I've tried everything, Phong. It's gone."  
  
"It would be foolish to assume that all of your memory would be intact, after spending as long as you did as a mindless Null."  
  
"How could I forget something so important?"  
  
"It will come back to you, Welman. And if it does not, you will discover it again. Your memory may be faulty, but you are as intelligent as you ever were."  
  
"I stumbled onto it by sheer chance last time, Phong. I remember that much. The odds against my finding it again are astronomical."  
  
"It is a pity you did not write it down. Leave a record."  
  
Welman laughed. A bitter, cynical laugh. "That's the ironic part. For the first time in my scientific career, I DID write down a formula. But the record was destroyed when the City crashed."  
  
"You are trying too hard. Relax, and it will come to you."  
  
"And in the meantime, how many more will be reduced to Nulls? How many more lives ruined?"  
  
"With the defenders this System has? Not many."  
  
Welman drummed his bionic fingers on the countertop, glaring without eyes at his workstation terminal.  
  
"Perhaps a good night's sleep would help your memory," Phong suggested.  
  
"Nulls don't sleep," Welman replied tersly. "We don't eat. We don't drink, we don't think, we don't dream."  
  
"You are more than an ordinary Null, old friend. You think. You feel. And, whether or not you sleep, you can still dream."  
  
With that, Phong turned and left.   
  
Welman turned to the mess he'd made of the medlab station. With a sigh, he started yet another simulation.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"So it does what you ask?"  
  
"Yup," Jareth replied, pulling back the sleeve of his coat to expose the unusual blue Keytool that sat on his right bracer. "I can't understand a word it says, though. I keep having to have Shark translate for me."  
  
"Show me," Delta asked. The Search Engine pulled her long, yellow hair back behind her lavendar ears as she leaned forward across the table to look more closely at the Keytool.   
  
"Okay. Umm...BuBBleJet--screwdriver."  
  
The small device made a whirring, clicking sound as its parts changed shape and shifted position, becoming the desired tool.  
  
"Neat. So what all can they become?"  
  
"Almost anything," Backslash replied, glancing at Tech, the Keytool that sat on his own bracer. "It's really a pity that these are the last three."  
  
"What happened to the others?" Jareth asked, switching his polished black mask to a look of puzzlement.  
  
"The Keytools all left when Daemon infected the Supercomputer," Backie replied. "They refused to stay with corrupted Guardians."  
  
"And yet they stay with me. Go figure. Wait, what about Clip?" the Viral Guardian inquired.  
  
"I haven't heard from Kit since I left the Supercomputer, but she must have lost it when Daemon 2.0 got her. Same reason."  
  
"Where do you think they all went?"Delta inquired.  
  
Backslash shrugged, taking a sip of his energy shake. "No one knows. My guess would be back to wherever it was they originally came from."  
  
"And where is that?" Delta asked.  
  
"No one knows that, either," Jareth answered, stifling a yawn.  
  
"Tired?" Backie asked.  
  
"Yeah, got lots to do," the Viral Guardian replied. "Christmas shopping, working full-time here....oh, and I'm the one who's supposed to be building that memorial statue Dot commisioned to be built in front of the P.O."  
  
"Statue of who?" Delta asked.  
  
"Whom," Jareth corrected. "It's a statue of Hex."  
  
"Your sister?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Dot actually approved a statue for a deleted Virus?" the Search Engine asked, a bit skeptical.  
  
"Hey, she saved the entire Net," Backslash said. "I think a memorial statue's the least we can do."  
  
"You!"  
  
The three Sprites turned as a large television screen with arms raced towards them along its track in the ceiling. The construct pointed at Jareth accusingly.  
  
"Something up, Cecil?" Jareth asked.  
  
"Your break has been over for ten nanos now!" Cecil stated in his thick French accent. "Get back to work!"  
  
Jareth sighed and got up from the booth. "I'll talk to you guys later."  
  
"We still on for dinner tonight?" Delta asked.  
  
"Of course."   
  
The Search Engine stood and planted a kiss on Jareth's porcelain lips.   
  
"See you at 19:00, then." Delta strolled out the double doors of Dot's Diner, throwing a casual "Bye, Backie," over her shoulder as she went.  
  
Backie waved, then turn his attention back to the black-clothed Virus.   
  
"You sure got over Electra in a hurry," he said, somewhat accusingly.  
  
Jareth shrugged. "The girl's dead. Sure, it sucks, but why mope? Now, if you'll excuse me, oh blue-green one," he said as he made his way towards the entrance to the kitchen. "I've culinary delights to prepare."  
  
Backslash cocked an eyebrow as Jareth left.   
  
"Since when do burgers and fries count as 'culinary delights'?" he asked rhetorically.  
  
The thought was cut short as the newly replaced beel above the diner door sounded. Backie glanced at the door, then double-taked at the fetching female Sprite who had just entered.  
  
Her eyes immediately shot to the familiar booth Backslash occupied. Smiling, she tossed her light brown hair back and sat down across from him.  
  
"Backslash Interface," Kit said. "Where the motherboard have you been?"   
  
  
  
* * *  
  
"What do you mean, I've been AWOL?"  
  
"How many meanings does that have?" Kit asked sarcastically.   
  
"But....why hasn't anyone from the Supercomputer tried to contact me?"  
  
"They have," the blue-skinned female Guardian replied, sipping her energy shake. "Communications between Mainframe and the rest of the Net have been offline ever since the Daemon incident."  
  
Backie raised an eyebrow. "That's....odd."  
  
"Yeah, I thought so too. That's one of the reasons I came. I stopped at the P.O. and informed Phong on my way here."  
  
"How did you get here, anyway?" Backslash asked.  
  
"I got a ride with Capacitor. He was taking a shipment here from the Supercomputer anyway, so I just tagged along."  
  
"I'm surprised he didn't charge you."  
  
"He did," Kit said matter-of-factly. "So, what's been going on here in Mainframe? How's Jareth?"  
  
"Did I hear my name?" A black-masked head poked out the kitchen door.  
  
"Hey, Jareth!" Kit called, waving.  
  
"Kit! Good to see you. Can't talk now, got a lot of orders to make."  
  
Kit scanned the diner, looking confused. "There are barely half a dozen people in here."  
  
"Yeah, I know, they're all for me." The Viral Guardian's head vanished again.  
  
Kit shook her head. "Hasn't changed much. How about Electra? What's she up to?"  
  
Backie's face fell. "Umm....Kit....You remember Megabyte?"  
  
"He's the one that deleted me, right?" Kit said, smirking sardonically.  
  
"He....deleted Electra, too."  
  
Kit's smirk vanished like a lightbulb blowing.  
  
"She's..."  
  
"Gone. Yeah."  
  
"Well....maybe she'll come back. I mean, I was deleted..."  
  
Backslash put on a big, fake smile. "Hey, yeah! And all we have to do is crash the system!" He shook his head. "I don't think so, Kit."  
  
Kit nodded. "Yeah....you're right." She shook her head. "Wow."  
  
Backie sighed. "So," he said. "Now what?"  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Now," Dot said to the group of people assembled in the War Room. "It's time to take care of Megabyte. Once and for all."  
  
"If I had a unit for every time I heard that," Matrix muttered.   
  
Dot glared at him, then continued. "Think, people. What does Megabyte want, more than anything?"  
  
"Power," Bob replied.  
  
"And where can he get that power?"  
  
"The Supercomputer," AndrAIa said.  
  
Dot smiled. "And how can he get to the Supercomputer?"  
  
The gathered Sprites exchanged perplexed glances, then turned to Dot, who smiled the smile that they all knew and feared.   
  
She had a plan.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The various security binomes chattered various security codes back and forth, until finally, the transport carrying the old Gateway command lifted off and began to sail across the sky.  
  
Exactly as anticipated, a squadron of ABC's appeared and siezed the vessel.   
  
"There's no pilot," one of the viral binomes said, examining the dashboard. "It's being piloted by remote."  
  
The binome that was with him raised his weapon and smashed the console, demolishing the remote mechanism. "Not anymore," he said, satisfaction in his voice.  
  
Locking a tractor beam onto the transport, the ABCs hauled it away, a bit surprised at the lack of resistance.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
"They've taken the bait," Dot said, watching from the vidwindows of the War Room. "Prepare for phase 2."  
  
* * *  
  
Megabyte smiled to himself as Herr Doktor completed his adjustments to the Gateway. A small regiment of viral troops, all he'd managed to amass since his return to this pathetic System, stood at the ready behind him, prepared to march on the Supercomputer.  
  
Soon....very soon.  
  
"Ze Gateway is ready, Mein grossebieter," Herr Doktorr said, saluting.  
  
The Virus smiled again, his cobalt-blue, mettalic armor gleaming in the flourescent light that illuminated the abandoned warehouse he had commandeered as a temporary headquarters. He'd have begun rebuilding the Silicon Tor, but he honestly didn't intend on remaining in Mainframe long enough to make it worth the effort.  
  
Megabyte closed his eyes and stepped foreward, a look of anticipation on his face, passing through the shimmering wall. He felt the surface tension passing over his body as he strode forward, as though he were walking through a vertical wall of water.   
  
Grinning maliciously, Megabyte opened his eyes, expecting to see the Supercomputer spread before him in all its glory, just waiting to be corrupted, ripe for the plucking....and instead saw the other side of the dingy warehouse, cobwebs and all.  
  
"Vas?" Herr Doktorr cried in astonishment, double-checking the readouts.  
  
"Herr Doktorr. What is going on?" the Virus demaned, a dangerous edge to his voice.  
  
"I...I do not understand!"  
  
"Now!" a voice called.  
  
The rear doors of the transport that had carried the Gateway Program slammed open, revealing most of Mainframe's defenders, weapons at the ready.  
  
Bob floated a foot or so off the ground, a glimmering ball of golden sparks in each hand. AndrAIa smirked, her spines extended. Matrix's cybernetic eye rotated in its socket, glowing an angry scarlet. Jareth wore his most mischievous black mask, twirling a jagged black-and-green scythe. Delta just smiled, a nimbus of violet light surrounding each of her clenched fists. In front of them stood a number of well-armed security binomes, each wearing a determined expression.  
  
"It's a trap!" Megabyte snarled.  
  
Instantly, all hell broke loose. Laser blasts ricocheted across the room as Megabyte's minions fired. The viral blasts lanced through the air, only to splash harmlessly against a wall of purple energy that appeared from nowhere. Before long, the virals had used up their ammo and had to reload.  
  
"Delta, drop the shield!" Bob commanded. The wall of light faded.  
  
The counterattack commenced, the security binomes firing their own weapons. Matrix fired several blasts from Gun, Bob launched his trademark containment spheres, and AndrAIa's paralyzing spines laid low several of the virals.  
  
Megabyte, noting that the tide had turned resolutely against him, began to edge away.  
  
"Don't lose him!" Bob yelled. "Matrix!"   
  
"On it. Gun--targetting." Matrix launched a scarlet (V) from the sight atop Gun's barrel, which shot across the room and stuck fast to Megabyte.   
  
Megabyte looked down at it, snarled, then raced over to one of his viral minions. With a single touch,he changed form, becoming a binome identicle to the one he'd touched, the victim falling unconcious. It was the perfect disguise....but for the fact that Matrix's (V) still stuck fast.   
  
Jareth chuckled. "My turn." He leapt forward, twirling his scythe. "Clash of the virals! Dun dun DUN!"  
  
Megabyte sneered, returning to his own form. Jareth attacked, but Megabyte caught the scythe by the blade as it swung towards him. Wrenching it from his brother's grasp, he flung it across the room.   
  
Jareth barely had time to switch to a shocked expression before Megabyte backhanded the black-clothed virus, sending him flying towards the transport. There were a number of "Oof!"s and "Oww!"s as most of the defenders were knocked off their feet.   
  
"Erm...sorry, guys."  
  
"Just get off me!" Matrix yelled.  
  
Jareth floated up off the pile of Sprites, spreading his wings. He extended his slender, black, nine-inch-long claws and switched to his 'bloody murder' mask.  
  
Megabyte aimed one of his arms forward, closing his fist. A pair of thin, chrome-silver tentacles emerged from the back of his hand and snaked through the air, darting towards the Sprites....and abruptly stopped in midair, turning a pale blue. Icicles formed along them, begginging at the tips and working their way back towards the Virus' hand.  
  
Megabyte's eyes widened in alarm. Just as the chilling effect reached him, he jerked his arm away, the brittle tentacles shattering into innumerable frozen fragments.  
  
A puzzled expression appeared on almost every face.   
  
"Jareth?" Bob asked.  
  
The Viral Guardian shook his head, looking as surprised as anyone. "Not me."  
  
"Then....who?" AndrAIa asked.  
  
"Umm....," Delta said. 'Maybe it was her."  
  
Following Delta's finger, the Mainframers looked up into the air. Floating almost directly above them was a female Virus, clothed in a brief blue costume. Her skin was a deep forest green, but from the collarbone up, her head was a polished mettalic gold. Her hands had three digits each, two fingers and a thumb, from each of which extended a long, bladelike claw. Her feet matched her hands, each one having a pair of razor-sharp talons, as well as a third that grew from the heel. More blades grew from her shins and forearms, piercing through the texture-wrapped gauntlets and sandals that she wore.  
  
Her scalp was covered with short, stiff black quills, and from the sides of her head grew bladelike horns, curving up, back, and inward, making her head almost heart-shaped. The golden metal on her collarbone also curved upwards, forming sharp points above her shoulders, and along her neckline was a series of short, sharp thorns. Her face was a mask of gold, barely distinguishable from the rest of her head, and it currently displayed a snarling expression.  
  
"If she really wants to hurt Megabyte, she should just hug him," AndrAIa observed.  
  
Megabyte was still clutching his frozen hand, staring up at the Virus in disbelief. "No....it's not possible..."  
  
Backslash raised his Keytool and spoke into it clearly. "Dot, now!"  
  
Immediately a tear appeared in the air directly behind Megabyte. Delta raised an arm, and fired a burst of purple light directly at it. There was a bright flash as the Search Engine's power stabilized the tear into a portal...a portal that, by the looks of it, led directly into a prison cell block.  
  
Matrix raised his Gun.  
  
"No," Megabyte said. "Stop!"  
  
Matrix fired, the blast knocking Megabyte back through the portal, which immediately closed.  
  
Backslash's keytool let out a bleep, and then transmitted Dot's voice.  
  
"We've got him, Bob," she said. "Good work."  
  
"All right!" Matrix cried. "We finally did it." The renegade swung AndrAIa up in his arms, then brought her in for a kiss.  
  
Bob walked over to Backslash (who showed every sign of wanting to be somewhere else) and looked over his shoulder into Tech's screen.  
  
"Dot?"  
  
"Yes, Bob?"  
  
"We make a great team."  
  
"We always did."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, warm fuzzies all around," Delta said, arms crossed. "But who's SHE?"  
  
All eyes worked their way up to the Virus who still floated in the air above them.  
  
The Virus lowered her taloned arms. As they watched, she began to transform. Her six long, bladelike claws decreased in size, becoming a pair of three-fingered hands, and her feet did likewise. The blades that ran along her forearms and shins retracted into her flesh, leaving behind only the texture-wrapped gauntlets and boots that encased her limbs. The points that rose abover her shoulders shrunk down and melted out of sight, as did the horns that adorned her head. The tiny, thorny quills that covered her scalp lengthened and softened, becoming a head of long, luxurious black hair, which from the right angles seemed to reflect flecks of white and turquoise. The diamond-like spikes that ran along her neckline shrunk down, becoming a set of small gemstones. She switched her mask from a red-eyed scowl to a blue-eyed smirk. Finally, her short skirt lengthened into a knee-length dress, covering the leggings she wore underneath.   
  
Jareth automatically switched his mask to a stunned expression. "Electra..."  
  
Delta's head whipped around towards him. "Electra?" she asked, confused, glancing back up at the floating Virus.  
  
The Sprite hovering in the air smiled, taking a bow. "Electra!" She confirmed.  
  
Backslash shook his head in disbelief. "Doesn't ANYONE around here ever stay deleted?"  
  
Jareth looked Electra up and down. "Nice upgrade," He said, impressed.  
  
A shrill beeping sound emerged from Jareth's jacket, and BuBBleJet launched itself out from his sleeve, rocketing through the air to its rightful owner and attaching itself to her gauntlet.  
  
Electra smiled at it for a moment, then levitated down to the ground and stood, hand on hip, smirking at Jareth.  
  
"So," she asked. "Who's your friend?"  
  
"My..Oh. Electra, this is Delta. She's my...umm..."  
  
Delta glanced from Jareth to Electra, then back to Jareth, who was practically squirming.  
  
"Jareth?" the Search Engine asked.   
  
"Yes?"  
  
"This isn't working out."  
  
Evidentally of all the things Jareth wasn't expecting to hear, he wasn't expecting that the most.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"I think we should see other people."  
  
"What?"  
  
"See you."  
  
"Wha--" Jareth's last "What?" was cut short as Delta leaned in and kissed him, then turned around and walked off, a portal forming in the air in front of her. Before anyone could say anything else, she was gone.  
  
"So," Jareth said, after a moment. He turned to Electra. "Care for an energy shake?"  
  
* * *  
  
Megabyte stood calmly in his cell, peering out through the firewall at Bob and Matrix.  
  
"So, I imagine the real gateway Command is in a safe place," he said.  
  
"The safest," Bob replied.  
  
"safer than the Archives?" Megabyte asked. He smiled. "The Core Room." the Virus chuckled. "Now, why didn't I think of that?"   
  
"You must be slipping, Megabyte."  
  
"You know, I really must congradulate you, Bob. It was the perfect trap."  
  
"Thank you," Bob said. "But I can't take the credit."  
  
"No," the Virus replied, examining his claws. "You were never the brains of the opposition, were you? I suppose I have the lovely Dot Matrix to thank for my present circumstances."  
  
Matrix's eyes narrowed. "Let's get this over with."  
  
"So what now?" Megabyte asked. "Deletion?"  
  
"No," Bob replied. "Just a scan. I don't believe in deletion."  
  
"You can't go against your code," the Virus argued.  
  
"And neither can you. That's the problem. It's not your fault. You're programmed to be this way." He typed away at his console. "We've just got to work out a way to reprogram you."  
  
"So....I won't be a Virus?"  
  
"That's the plan."  
  
Megabyte nodded. "Ah. So. A fate worse than deletion." He leaned forward. 'And they call me a monster."  
  
* * *  
  
"...And there I was, looking like this," Electra finished.   
  
"You just put on the mask, and it turned you into this," Jareth repeated.  
  
"And how's this for a twist?" Backslash asked, scanning Electra with his Keytool. "She's gone Viral. Completely Viral."  
  
"It doesn't make any sense," Kit argued. "If you put the mask back on, and it turned you into this....then where have you been all this time?"  
  
"Well...no one actually SAW Megabyte delete her," Jareth said. "He could have been lying, and he just hid her somewhere. But....no, because we scanned the entire System looking for her. Even Frisket's nose couldn't find her." The Viral Guardian reached down and scratched behind the large red dog's ears. "Besides, there's no way the mask did this. It was completely shattered when I found it. I glued it back together myself." He smiled at the dog. "Frisket helped."  
  
Kit continued pacing back and forth on the sidewalk in front of Dot's Diner. Jareth was leaning back agaist the glass windows, and Backslash was continuing to run various scans on Electra using his Keytool.  
  
Electra herself was kneeling on the sidewalk, petting Frisket. The dog had been so excited to see her again that he'd enthusiastically knocked Backslash off the sidewalk into a snowdrift on his way to greet her.  
  
"I'm telling you, I don't remember ever seeing Megabyte," Electra said. "I walked home, put on the mask, and there I was...and evidently it's cycles later."  
  
"I just don't get it," Kit said.  
  
"I think I do," Backie said, reading Tech's screen. "When Electra put on the mask, it made a backup of her current memory. That's why putting on the mask is the last thing she remembers."  
  
"Are you saying the mask....regenerated her?" Kit asked. "As a Virus?"  
  
"Looks like it."  
  
"I didn't know it could do that," Jareth said. "Mom just said it was supposed to turn a regular Sprite into a replacement Lore."  
  
Backie shook his head. "No, I've loaded all the scans Phong did on Electra when she got back from the Supercomputer, just after she put on the mask the first time."  
  
"And?" Kit prompted.  
  
"The mask wouldn't have restored her on its own. Something had to spark it....get it to re-create Electra from the code it had stored."  
  
"But...what?" Kit asked.  
  
"Hey," Electra said, tilting her head. "Frisket's Icon is back to normal."  
  
"He must have used his wish on something," Jareth said.  
  
"Wish?" Backslash inquired.   
  
"Phong said that's the standard Codemaster reward. A wish. Frisket must have used his up, so it's not on his Icon aymore." Jareth switched to a grin. "See any giant-sized bones lying around?"  
  
Backslash and Kit exchanged a glance, then looked at Frisket, who was happily licking Electra's golden face.  
  
"Nah," Kit said. "Couldn't be."  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
"Scan complete," Bob said, as the waves of energy playing over Megabyte stopped. "Data download in progress. Now," he asked. "Was that so bad?"  
  
A vidwindow oppped up in front of the Guardian, displaying the results of the scan.   
  
"This...isn't possible," Bob said, reading. "There's nothing here....or there."  
  
"Bob!" matrix cried. "Drop the firewall!"  
  
"I can't! He'll--"  
  
Matrix drew Gun and blasted the controls, causing the firewall to flicker out of existance. He ran forward at Megabyte, who slashed at him...only to have his claws pass harmlessly through the one-eyed renegade. Matrix grabbed the false Virus by the throat. Megabyte grinned as he began to dissolve.  
  
"It's an alias. It's not him," Bob said.  
  
"Where. Are. You," Matrix growled at the holographic Megabyte.  
  
The alias chuckled. "Guess."  
  
Matrix punched the alias, destroying its head with a single blow. Immediately, the rest of it dissolved into nothingness.  
  
* * *  
  
The celebrations in the War Room were brought to a screeching halt by Bob's vidwindow.  
  
"Dot! We don't have Megabyte! It was an alias! He must be in the war Room with you! One of you is Megabye! Do you understand? He's tricked us! Get out of there, now!"  
  
There was a moment of tense silence as everone in the room regarded everyone else in the room with deep suspicion...then suddenly, one of the security binomes began to shudder.  
  
Before anyone could react, he grew from a tiny binome into a massive virus, covered from head to toe in polished, cobalt-blue metal. The binomes around him scattered, panicking.  
  
Megabyte thrust his arm foreward, a pair of pencil-thin tendrils shooting forth from the back of his hand. The tentacles lanced through the air, striking two of the security binomes. They immediately stopped in their tracks, their coloration changing, their eyes becoming the red-and-green that was characteristic of all victims of Megabyte's infection.  
  
Hack and Slash each grapsed one of Dots arms, and, eyes narrowed, dragged her from the War Room.  
  
"No!" she cried. "Enzo!"  
  
One by one, or more often, in sets of two, the security binomes in the room fell victim to Megabyte's power. Megabyte turned to Mouse, and shot forth his infecting cables, but the hacker drew her katana and slashed the air before her, cutting the tentacles short. Megabyte screeched in pain as several segments of steel-gray cable fell to the ground, still twitching. Withdrawing his tendrils, Megabyte glared fiercly at Mouse, massaging his wrist. He reached forward with his other arm, launching two more of his cables.  
  
Mouse and AndrAIa retreated through one of the war Room's many doors, the cables right on their heels. Phong made a heroic leap, and the infecting tentacles struck him in the midsection, rather than connecting with their intended targets.  
  
Welman picked up Enzo, and, tucking the small Sprite beneath one of his robotic arms, he proceeded to run from the room. The doors began to close, only to be stopped short by yet another pair of Megabyte's tendrils. A third lanced into the room, striking Welman, just as he was setting Enzo aside. His robotic form jerked and sparked as Viral energy coursed through it, its colors changing to the dull steel-gray of all whom Megabyte had infected.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
"Stop," Dot ordered. "Stop! STOP!"  
  
Finally, Having reached a safe distance from the War Room, Hack and Slash let go of Dot and began talking in panicked voices.  
  
"Oh boy oh boy oh boy," Hack cried. "He's free!"  
  
"Ah, eh, what are we gonna do?"  
  
"Yeah, we need a plan!"  
  
"Oh, we need a plan, big time!"  
  
Both robots turned to Dot and asked, "WHAT"S THE PLAN?!"  
  
"Boys, shut up and let me think!" Dot screamed.  
  
Hack and Slash hung their heads.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
Mouse frantically typed at the access panel on one of the walls, trying to hack into the P.O.'s operating system. AndrAIa stood watch behind her, trident at the ready.  
  
After entering several different passwords, Mouse let out a growl of frustration.   
  
"Rrgh! Nothin'!"  
  
* * *  
  
The speakers that lined the ceilings on the Principal Office, as well as the external ones that were used to address the rest of the System, clicked on with a musical tone.  
  
"Attention," Megabyte's deep, cultured voice intoned. "As you will no doubt be aware, the Principal Office is under my complete control. You're probably looking forward to one of my erudite speeches about me, Megaframe, the New Viral Dawn, et cetera et cetera. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to dissappoint you. There is no grand scheme here. This...is about revenge." Smiling, Megabyte sharpened his claws as he spoke from the War Room, where a number of cables connected him to various control consoles that lined the walls. "Viruses are predatory by design, and it is time for me to follow my function. Prepare yourselves....for the hunt."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
As the message ended, the Vidwindows surrounding the pinnacle of the P.O. snapped out of existance. The streams of data than ran along the rails across the System ground to a halt and faded. The skies overhead darkened, from a pale blue to a deep, dead purple. Every vehicle that was in the air fell to the ground, as though the force that supported them had simply been taken away.  
  
"He's cut power to the System," Kit observed. She turned to the others. "We've got to get in there."  
  
"The entrances are all sealed," Backie replied. "How do we get in?"  
  
"Well, what about the pinnacle? Where the big sphere comes out? We could get in there."  
  
"Zipboards won't work, not without power. How do we get up there?"  
  
Kit thought for a moment. "You two could carry us," she finally said, gesturing to Jareth and Electra.  
  
"No," Electra said.  
  
"Why not?" Backie asked.  
  
"I don't feel like it."  
  
Kit slapped her forehead.  
  
"And I can't carry both of you," Jareth said apologetically, shrugging.   
  
"You can't?" Backslash asked, surprised. "I saw Lore manipulate the molecular structure of concrete, but you can't carry two sprites?"  
  
"Nope. Sorry."  
  
"Fine," Kit said. "Okay, so we need some sort of transport that can carry Backslash and I, or preferably all four of us....something that won't have been affected by the power outage..."  
  
Jareth's eyes lit up, shining a brighter green than usual. "I've got just the thing."  
  
Backslash and Kit exchanged a nervous glance.  
  
* * *  
  
"THAT's your transport?" Backslash asked incredulously.  
  
"Yup."  
  
The object in question was composed of eight large piles of scrap metal, cardboard, and tin cans, arranged into two neat rows of four and connected by string and chains to a rusty-looking slab of metal.  
  
Backie, Kit, and Electra eyed it warily as they entered the large chamber within Hexadecimal's--now Jareth's-- Lair.  
  
"This thing actually flies?" Electra asked. "What powers it?"  
  
"I do," Jareth replied, and snapped his fingers.   
  
Instantly, the piles rose up off the ground, assembling themselved into the rough shapes of large, four-legged animals with pronged antlers emerging from their heads. The animals snorted and pawed at the ground with their hooves impatiently.  
  
"They're kinda cute," Electra said. "What are they?"  
  
"Reindeer."  
  
"Oh! I remember those from the old Christmas readme files," Kit said, stepping foreward cautiously to stroke one. It nuzzled her hand affectionately. She knew perfectly well that it was only a pile of junk, animated by Viral power, but it's movements and mannerisms made it seem quite lifelike.  
  
"Yup." Jareth reached into his seemingly endless coat pockets and produced a floppy, conical black hat with a fluffy green brim, and a fluffy green ball on the end to match. Planting it firmly on his head, he said, "Hop in, everyone."  
  
Once everyone was comfortably situated, Jareth grabbed ahold of the reins.  
  
"So how do you start this thing?" Kit asked.  
  
"I remember this one," Backie said. "Call the reindeer by name, right?"  
  
Jareth nodded, then gave the reins a flick.   
  
"On Smasher, on Crasher, on Venom and Trancer!  
  
Go, Romper! Go Stomper! Go Wraith! Necromancer!"   
  
Each Reindeer gave a start as it's name was called, and as soon as the last syllable was out, they all began pawing furiously at the ground, dragging the sleigh forward. The wall in front of them lowered with a crash at the very last possible moment, like a drawbridge, and behind it was a long tunnel that sloped steadily upward. For interminable lenght of time, they sped through the dark tunnel, until finally, they shot forth from the end like a cannon into the night sky over Mainframe.  
  
"Now," Electra said with a smile. "let's give old Meggy a Christmas present he'll never forget."  
  
To be concluded in Chapter 13: Fireworks 


	14. Fireworks

The Viral Guardian Series  
  
Chapter 13: Fireworks  
  
  
  
"Gotta hand it to you, Jareth," Backslash said,as the rickety sleigh soared across the sky towards the Principal Office. "This ride is a lot smoother than it looks."  
  
"Speak for yourself," Kit complained, squirming. "What am I sitting on?" The brown-haired Guardian let out a small squeak as her seat moved beneath her, jumping to her feet and almost falling out of the sleigh.  
  
A small, football-shaped creature, vaguely resembling a cat, glared back up at her.   
  
"Scuzzy!" Jareth cried, looking back at the animal. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to."  
  
"Keep your eyes on the road," Backie said, as the vehicle swerved alarmingly.  
  
"What road?"  
  
"It's a figure of...never mind."  
  
Electra looked ahead at the ball-shaped building that loomed ahead. "You guys ARE aware that our odds of getting past the PO defenses AND taking down Megabyte are pretty much nil, and that we're all probably going to be deleted?" she asked.  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Pretty much."  
  
A moment passed.  
  
"So," Jareth said. "What do you guys want to do tomorrow?"  
  
A blast of light ripped through the air beside them, almost causing the entire sleigh to tumble.  
  
"Woah!" Backie grabbed at the railing to keep from being spilled over the side. "We're under attack!"  
  
"Oh, you noticed," Electra quipped. She raised an arm and let loose a jet of blue light that struck the offending gun turret of the PO, causing it to explode.  
  
"Does this thing have any defenses?" Kit asked.  
  
"Umm...When I was building it, I cut myself on a loose shard of scrap metal," Jareth replied. "Does that count?"  
  
Kit cursed under her breath.  
  
A second blast from the spherical building struck them head-on, shredding half the reindeer and causing the sleigh to roll over. The passengers clung to the railing, holding on for dear life.  
  
Backslash raised his left arm desperately.  
  
"Tech--Anything!"  
  
* * *  
  
The banging of Matrix's combat boots echoed off the stainless steel walls as he and Bob raced down the halls of the Principal Office, desperately trying to make their way to the War Room, where their friends...and Megabyte....were waiting.  
  
Bob skidded to a halt as red lights began to flash, sirens blaring. Matrix plowed into the chrome-armored Guardian, almost knocking him over.  
  
"What's going on?" Matrix asked, looking at the lights in confusion.  
  
"Megabyte's activated the security systems," Bob replied tersly, activating his Glitch Powers, a sphere of golden light surrounding each hand.  
  
Abruptly, the lights and sirens ceased, and hidden panels in the walls popped open. Several disk-shaped objects floated out and began to bounce off the metal walls, slowly at first, but gaining more and more speed each time they struck anything.  
  
"Energy pucks."  
  
Matrix narrowed his eyes. "The Principal Office's security system is game pucks?"  
  
"Highly explosive, energy seeking game pucks, yes."  
  
Matrix held his hand at his hip, and his Gun detatched itself from its holster and flew into his grip. His cybernetic eye rotating in his socket, he aimed at one of the pucks and fired. The puck exploded, setting off other pucks, which set off still more in a chain reaction that cleared the hall behind them.  
  
Bob raised his eyebrows. "Nice." turning to the path ahead, he fired a pulse of golden energy that had a similar effect, eliminating all the pucks that had appeared.  
  
"Is that it?" Matrix asked, almost laughing. 'We need to talk to Phong about having a real security system--"  
  
With a loud snapping sound, the panels that had disgorged the pucks popped shut, and still more panels opened. Dozens of mechanical arms, each one bristling with laser turrets, whirred as they moved into position, all of them targetting the two Sprites.  
  
"--installed," Matrix finished, somewhat lamely.   
  
The cannons began to fire, the first few shots missing as the targetting systems calibrated themselves.   
  
Bob jumped as a blast grazed his belt. Closing his eyes, he raised his hands and concentrated. Two glowing walls of amber light materialized, blocking the gunfire that lanced at them from either direction.   
  
"We have to move," Matrix said.  
  
"If I drop the shields, we're toast," Bob replied.  
  
"Well we can't stay here," Matrix said. "We need to get to the War Room. And besides, your battery is fried."  
  
Alarmed, Bob glanced down at his belt. Matrix was right: The transfinite energy storage battery he wore clipped to his belt had been destroyed by the blast that had grazed him. Without it, his Glitch powers had nothing to run on but his own personal energy...and not only would that not last long, but draining it would put his very life in danger.  
  
"Any ideas?" Bob asked.  
  
Matrix peered through the shields, his bionic eye zooming in on the door at the end of the hall, the door to the elevator that could take them to the level the War Room was on. "Can you move the shields?"  
  
Bob experimentally took a step to the left, the shields moving with him, staying exactly the same distance from him that they had been on either side. "Yep. These shields filter energy, though, not objects, so you'll have to take care of the turrets as the shields pass them."  
  
Matrix raised his Gun. "Got it covered."  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Nice landing, featherhead," Electra complained as she dusted herself off, her blades retracting back into her body as she reverted from what Jareth called her 'Hyde-mode' to her 'Jekyll-mode'.   
  
"Thanks," Jareth replied, either ignoring the sarcasm or just missing it entirely.  
  
"You know what they say," Kit said. "Any landing you can walk away from..."  
  
"We wouldn't be walking anywhere if not for that energy shield," Jareth replied. "Nice job."  
  
"Thanks," Backlsash said.  
  
"Oh, not you," Jareth said. "I was talking to Tech."  
  
"Oh."  
  
The four Sprites finished pulling themselves from the wreckage of the scrap-metal sleigh and began assessing the damage. Scuzzy emerged from beneath a flat slab of rusty sheet metal, looking a bit frazzled but otherwise unharmed, and rolled over to where the group was standing.  
  
"Aww, man," Jareth complained, picking up and tossing aside a chunk of metal. "My beautiful slay."  
  
Kit squinted, then cocked her head and turned to Backslash. "Did you.."  
  
The blue-green Guardian nodded. "Yeah, I heard it, too."  
  
"I think we've known him a little too long," Kit said matter-of-factly.  
  
Backslash looked up towards the pinnacle above. "So...now how do we get inside?"  
  
"Well," Jareth replied. "Some of the reindeer are okay."  
  
As he spoke, three of the ragtag animals pulled themselves from the clutter and trotted up to the group.  
  
"Backie, you can ride Wraith. Kit can take Romper, and 'Lectra, you can have Trancer."  
  
"And you'll fly?"  
  
"I guess. There aren't any more reindeer in fit condition to ride."  
  
"There's that one," Electra said, pointing to one that lay on the ground nearby. "It's only missing its head."  
  
"That shouldn't be too hard to fix. All we have to do is find it...ah. Here it is." Jareth leaned over and pulled an antlered head from the nearby pile, then walked over to the body, which rose to its feet.  
  
"His neck is gone," Backie observed.  
  
Jareth jammed the head directly onto the body, where it somehow adhered. "Necromancer with no neck. I guess I'll just call him Romancer from now on."  
  
A chorus of groans followed.  
  
Backslash mounted his reindeer. "It's better this way, anyway. Now they have more than one target to aim for."  
  
"Scuzzy, you stay here," Jareth said, hopping aboard Romancer. "It's gonna be a little dangerous in there."  
  
Scuzzy made his trademark purring/grinding noise.  
  
"That had better mean 'yes'," Jareth said squinting back at the wotsit.  
  
Kit and Electra climbed onto their mounts, Electra complaining that junk and scrap metal did not make for the most comfortable seat.  
  
"Oh, quit whining," Jareth said, reaching over to pet Trancer. "You're going to hurt her feelings."  
  
Electra's stained-glass eyes weren't made to roll, but that didn't stop her from trying.  
  
Their soldered hooves making clicking noises on the concrete, the four reindeer bult up speed and trotted into the sky.   
  
* * *  
  
"Careful now, Bob," Megabyte said, watching the Vidwindow before him intently. "We mustn't overexert ourselves." The Virus chuckled as Bob's blue skin began to turn transparent. The Guardian's eyes seemed to lose focus, and he wavered a bit, but he stubbornly refused to drop the shields he'd erected.  
  
Abruptly, the sounds of laser fire in the background ceased. "Ah, it seems you are in luck, Guardian. The autoguns have depleted their charge."  
  
Megabyte's eyes widened in pleasure as the golden shields faded and Bob collapsed, Matrix catching him just before he struck the floor.   
  
"Or perhaps not." Megabyte reached forward and paused his hand poised above one of the buttons on the control panel before him. After allowing just enough time for the Sprites to think they were, for the time being, safe, he pressed it. Still more hidden doors snapped open in the hall, allowing a number of larger, more powerful energy pucks to float free.  
  
"You'll never get away with this, Megabreath!"  
  
The Virus sighed, turning to the small, green-skinned Sprite that stood in the corner, encased from the neck down in one of two glowing green file-locks. The other held Phong, who was glaring malevolently at the mettalic-armored Virus.  
  
"Enzo," Megabyte said, sounding bored. "Have you ANY idea how many times I've heard that?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Neither have I. It's been that often."  
  
"And how many times HAVE you gotten away with it, Virus?" Phong asked. "Evil never wins."  
  
"You know, I must say I HAVE noticed that," Megabyte replied, examining his claws. "But then, I never really LOSE, either, now do I? You've thwated my 'nefarious schemes', sealed me behind firewalls, cast me from the System...but I seem to keep coming."  
  
Enzo and Phong exchanged a glance.  
  
"Statistically speaking, sooner or later one side is bound to win." Megabyte returned his attention to the VidWindow, which showed Matrix attempting to shoot down the energy pucks before they could reach the spot where Bob had fallen. "And, from the looks of things," Megabyte added. "That side is going to be mine."  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
Mouse determinedly typed away at the console, despite the fact that nothing she tried seemed to have the slightest effect. Behind her, AndrAIa kept a nervous watch, her razor-sharp trident at the ready.  
  
The trident's reassuring weight was normally a comfort to the Game Sprite. The faithful weapon had saved her life, and Matrix's....and Frisket's, come to think of it....more times than she could count. It had stayed at her side ever since she'd traded in her double-crossbow for it, no longer needing the ranged weapon once she'd learned to launch her spines.   
  
But not even the feel of the trident's handle in her grasp could comfort her now. Megabyte had the entire Principal Office....no, the entire System at his disposal. He had eyes everywhere....and more than likely, weapons, too.  
  
Suddenly, the main lighs switched off, leaving only the dim emergency lights to illuminate the wide hallway. Something gleamed, and AndrAIa's eyes narrowed as she took in the tall, mechanical form that was standing before her.  
  
Welman. The light reflecting off the glass dome of his head was what had caught her attention. His normally gold finish had turned the dull, tainted gray of everyone whom Megabyte had unwillingly infected.   
  
"Mouse."  
  
"What is it, Sugah?"  
  
"Turn around."  
  
The hacker turned. "Welman?"  
  
"He's been infected."  
  
Mouse nodded, drawing her katana.  
  
One moment, Welman was standing stock-still, the next he was in motion, moving far faster than anything made of heavy metal had a right to move. With surprising strength, he reached over and tore a piece of metal from the wall next to him and flung it down the hall at the girls.  
  
Mouse jumped aside, and AndrAIa ducked, allowing the chunk of steel to fly over her head, denting the door behind them.   
  
AndrAia extended her spines and sent them shooting down the hall at the construct, but the toxic barbes richocheted harmlessly off the metal body, embedding themselves in the walls and ceiling.  
  
The bot rushed forward. Mouse swung her katana, attempting to cleave the mechanical man in two, but again Welman moved far faster than expected, grabbing the sword by the blade and pulling it from the hacker's hand. With a backhanded blow, the robot knocked Mouse the the ground, then, with such strength that it would have been impossible to remove, stuck her katana firmly into the wall.  
  
AndrAIa brought her trident to bear, but the bot simply tore it from her grasp and snapped it on his knee as if it were no more than a twig.  
  
With a single blow from his steel fist, AndrAIa collapsed, falling to the floor.  
  
Welman turned to Mouse, who was rubbing the back of her head. He took a few steps forward, then raised his arms together and prepared to deliver a downward blow that would cleave the hacker's skull neatly in two...but instead caught a blast from Mouse's ring full in the face, forcing him to stagger back, disoriented.  
  
Casting about desperately for something to use as a weapon, her eyes fell on one of the broken pieces of AndrAia's trident. Quickly siezing it, Mouse rushed forward and, with all the strength she could muster, forced it directly through the pulsating orb at the center of Welman's body: his power core. Welman's mechanical body began to shake, then spark as uncontrolled energy surged through his frame, fusing his circuits and burning out his servomotors....then he fell still, remaining upright only because the hacker's thrust has nailed him firmly to the wall.  
  
"Whew." Mouse fell back against the wall behind her, wiping her brow. She turned to AndrAIa. "AndrAIa? You okay?"  
  
The Game Sprite let out a groan, but said nothing, apparently unconscious.  
  
"Out cold, but still processin'. Ah'll settle for that." Mouse replied. She looked back at Welman...and something caught her eye. Raising her hand to block the glare from the dim emergency lighting, she looked closely at Welman's head.  
  
The glass dome was empty.  
  
* * *  
  
Matrix fired blast after blast, blowing the energy pucks out of the air. There were too many, and they kept moving faster and faster....much more of this, and not even he would have been able to shoot fast enough to protect Bob.  
  
A puck swooped in from above. Matrix saw it coming, aimed, and squeezed the trigger...and nothing happened. He fired too many times, too quickly, at full power, and Gun's systems had shut it down to keep the weapon from overheating.  
  
Everything seemed to slow down. The puck came in, closer....closer....and stopped, as did all the others.  
  
Matrix tilted his head to side in wonder as the energy pucks floating serenely back into their compartments, the doors closing.  
  
* * *  
  
Megabyte's mouth fell open in surprised, but he quickly recovered his composure. "What's going on?" he demanded.  
  
"The security system appears to have been deactivated, Megabyte," Phong replied calmly.  
  
"By whom?" the Virus demanded. The room was small enough that anyone walking across it to the control panel, flipping the switch right under his nose, and then walking away unnoticed was absurd.  
  
There was a moment of tense silence as all of Megabyte's viral binomes looked at each other, no one owning up to the crime of having saved the Guardian and Renegade.  
  
Someone sneezed. Megabyte's head whipped around in the direction of the sound...and there, by the door near Phong and Enzo, stood a Sprite who looked so out of place it was astounding that no one had noticed her. Her hair was white, her eyes red, her skin an eye-defying peach-green.  
  
"Oh, slag," she muttered, realizing that her cover, whatever it was, had been blown.  
  
Megabyte sneered, then reached forward and sent a pair of steel-gray cables from the back of his hand towards the Sprite. Rather than attempting to dodge, the Sprite did the last thing Megabyte would have expected: she reached forward and grabbed the tentacles, careful not to touch the infection-spreading tips. Then, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she sent a powerful surge of electricity running down the tentacles, badly shocking the cobalt-blue Virus. Megabyte screamed in pain, then fell against the control panel, dazed.   
  
The Sprite seemed a bit dazed, herself, as though using the electrifying ability had drained her. Fortunately, the viral binomes in the room were too startled by her sudden appearance and bizarre actions to react right away.  
  
"Chu!" Phong cried. "Run!"  
  
Chu shook herself out of her daze and rushed to the door, making a hasty exit.  
  
Moments later, Megabyte pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his scorched hand. He glanced sharply at his minions. "Well? After her!"  
  
The viral binomes snapped to a salute, then rushed out through the door Chu had used.  
  
Phong shook his head, the only part of his body he could move, his eyes wide with surprise. "I....did not know she could do that."  
  
Almost immediately, there was a large explosion, and a number of binomes flew back into the war Room, landed with a crash, and faded into oblivion as the force of the impact deleted them.  
  
Megabyte turned to glare at Phong.   
  
"Oh, I knew she could do THAT."  
  
* * *  
  
Hack and Slash had finally stopped bickering, giving Dot the silence she needed to concentrate on forming a plan. Now, if only it were possible to stop that noise their antennae made...  
  
Shutting out all distractions, Dot focused on the plan. The situation, her resources, and the problem: Megabyte. He was currently in the War Room, but he wouldn't stay there...the Virus had been defeated too many times to count on his victory now. He'd have an escape planned...  
  
The Gateway command! It wouldn't take him long to deduce where they'd hidden it, in the Core Room...assuming he already hadn't....and where better to escape than to the place he'd wanted to go all along? To the Supercomputer?  
  
The others would take care of driving him out of the war Room, she was sure of that...but she had to take care of cutting off his escape. She would go to the Core Room and....and....and what? How could she hold him off from the Gateway command? She didn't have the technical knowledge to sabotauge it before he got there, she'd need Mouse for that, and who knew where the hacker was now.   
  
"If only we had more firepower...," she muttered.  
  
"Firepower?" Hack asked. "You've got firepower!"  
  
"She does?" Slash asked.  
  
"Yes! She's got us!"  
  
"Yeah! We're nothing But firepower!"  
  
"We can help!"  
  
"Yes, indeed!"  
  
"Just point the way!"  
  
Dot shook her head. "I know you two are strong, but you're no match for Megabyte. And even if you were, you're scared to deletion of him, remember?"  
  
"She has a point."  
  
"yes, a very good point."  
  
"--Well, I guess we could--"  
  
"--No, no, that won't work--"  
  
"--Yeah, you're right what if we--"  
  
"BOYS!"  
  
The two robots turned from each other to face Dot.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What's that noise?" she asked.  
  
The three of them stood completely still, to better hear the sound that was approaching. It sounding like clicking, or grinding, like an odd mix of a purring cat and a fishing pole.  
  
Hack and Slash rolled in front of Dot, each raising an arm protectively, prepared to blast the source of the noise if it proved to be a threat.  
  
Scuzzy turned the corner and looked at the three of them as though they were all behaving like total idiots.  
  
"Scuzzy?" Dot asked.  
  
"Scuzzy!" Hack and Slash shouted.  
  
"Now we have all the firepower we need!" Hack declared.  
  
"What are you...," Dot began, but the bots continued as though she hadn't spoken.  
  
"You don't mean--"  
  
--I DO mean--"  
  
"--You think we should--"  
  
"--well, I think we have to--"  
  
"--yeah, I think you're right, but--"  
  
"--But?"  
  
"But we should ask him."  
  
"Ask...Scuzzy?--"  
  
"--Scuzzy, yes--"  
  
"--Yeah, you're right, because--"  
  
"--Because he's part of this, too, after all, and--"  
  
"What do you say, Scuzzy?" they both asked, turning from each other to the small, unclassifiable pet.  
  
The small animal nodded, then jumped into the air. Two red and blue robots each reached out with one hand, catching him at the same time.  
  
A blinding light filled the hall.  
  
* * *  
  
The elevator doors were barely open when Matrix raced past them, running down the hall for all he was worth, an unconscious Bob slung over his shoulder. He turned the corner....and his eyes widened.  
  
His father's limp mechanical body was impaled on a rod that jutted out of the wall. Next to it was embedded one of Mouse's katana blades. The hacker herelf was trying to pry the doors to the war Room open with her remaining sword....and on the ground, next to the head of her broken trident, lay AndrAia, propped agaist the wall, out cold, her perfect face marred by a large, purple bruise.  
  
Everything went red. Matrix was vaguely aware of setting Bob aside, of Mouse turning, saying something....then an explosion echoed throughout the hall as a blast from Gun tore the dented, damaged doors apart.  
  
Matrix stormed into the War Room. Oddly enough, there were no viral binomes standing in his way, just him. Megabyte. Looking smug as ever, calmy examining his claws.  
  
Matrix didn't waste time with words, or with fistfighting this time. He aimed his Gun, targetted the arrogant virus right between the eys, and fired.  
  
Megabyte ducked, letting the blast fly over his head.  
  
"Enzo! What a pleasant--"  
  
"Save it!"   
  
Another blast tore thought the air, only to be caught in Megabyte's hand as if it were nothing more than a softball.  
  
All the charm vanished from the Virus' voice. "Have it your way."  
  
Megabyte flung the energy ball back at the Renegade with remarkable accuracy, knocking the firearm from Matrix's hand. Matrix clutched at his scorched digits as, eyes narrowed in anger. Megabyte leapt over the consoles, landing heavily on the recessed floor below. He marched up to Matrix and extended the claws of his right hand. Reaching forward with his left, he grabbed Matrix by the thoat, then brought back his arm, preparing to stab down into his face.   
  
Something small and green darted across the floor towards Megabyte. Upon reaching his metallic foot, it made a motion as though to bite him, touching the tip of it's sluglike body to the Virus' cobalt-blue skin. Instantly, Megabyte began to turn transparent as his energy was siphoned away. His grip weakened and Matrix fell to the floor.  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Enzo! Are you all right?" the null warbled.   
  
Megabyte stumbled, his color beginning to return. Welman glanced up at him, alarmed.  
  
"Quickly!" Welman cried turning back to Matrix. "Finish him!"  
  
Rising to his feet, Matrix stretched out his arm. Gun twitched, then shot from its place on the floor into his outstretched hand. Matrix's eye swiveled in its socket and began to glow a fierce crimson as the renegade brought his weapon to bear on the virus in front of him.  
  
*BANG!*  
  
Megabyte's head exploded into shards of tansparent data, and the rest of him immediately followed, obviously just a hollow shell. Another Alias!  
  
"No!" Matrix cried. "Where are you?!" he roared.  
  
"The Core Room!" Phong's voice cried. Matrix turned to see the Mouse, using her ring to break the file-locks that had sealed away Phong and Enzo.  
  
The elderly Sprite looked panicked. "He is trying to reach the Gateway Command!"  
  
"You go, Sugah," Mouse said. "Ah'll stay here with these three, in case any more of his flunkies are still lurkin' around."   
  
Matrix turned and ran from the War Room.  
  
* * *  
  
Megabyte smiled as he reached the doors to the Core Room and began keying in the access codes. Let them have their pathetic little System. Where he was going, there would be more than enough power for him to come back and finish them off. After all, he had seen firsthand what some of the items from the Supercomputer's armory could do. That little device Turbo had given to the hacker, for example, disguised as a harmless communicator. The size of a marble, and powerful enough to destroy an entire System...yes, there was more than enough where he was going.  
  
Megabyte frowned as a though occurred to him. Daemon, he understood, had arranged for the Webcreature to enter Mainframe, forcing Turbo to destroy it according to Guardian protocol. Had she succeded, she'd have destroyed her own offspring as well.  
  
Just as well she was already deleted, or he would have had to hunt her down.  
  
The doors, accepting the codes, slid open. Megabyte smiled in surprise at the Sprite waiting for him, standing in front of the Gateway.  
  
"Why Ms. Matrix! What a delightful surprise!" The Virus strode forward until he towed just before the small female Sprite. She didn't appear to be afraid of him at all. She had always been a brave one, that Dot. Or perhaps she just hid her emotions well. Sweat was beginning to bead on her forehead, but that could just as easily been from the Core radiation.  
  
"So this is it, then? You are the last line of defense, here to prevent my attaining the power I have always sought, and using it to crush you all?" Megabyte chuckled.  
  
"No," Dot replied innocently.  
  
Megabyte's eyes narrowed.  
  
"He is." Dot pointed.  
  
Megabyte turned around...and recieved a powerful metal fist directly in the face. The force of the blow caused him to fly back with enough force to dent the wall of the Core Room.  
  
Megabyte climbed to his feet. "I thought I'd seen the last of you, Clash."  
  
The massive mechanized construct rolled forward, his features a combination of Hack's, Slash's, and Scuzzy's. He bristled all over with powerful, weapon-weilding arms.  
  
One of the limbs came forward, this one armed with a chainsaw. The weapon roared as Clash swung it through the air. Megabyte ducked at the last minute, letting the whirring blade pass harmlessly over his head, then delivered an uppercut that knocked Clash onto his back.   
  
* * *  
  
"What's wrong with Bob, Phong?" Enzo asked as he and the mechanical Sprite lifted the unconscious Guardian onto the platform beside AndrAIa's.  
  
"His energy levels have been drained to critical levels," Phong replied. "He must access a large supply of energy soon, or he will cease to function."  
  
"Dude! Well, what are you waiting for? Hook him up!"   
  
Phong typed at the medconsole. 'oh, dear....it seems that when Chu's bomb eliminated the virals, it also disabled much of the medbay's equiptment. I'm afraid the energy will have to come from a donor, by way of transfusion." Phong wheeled over to the wall and removed a large, box like device, from the top of which hung a pair of cables. Fastening one to Bob's arm, he set the box down and rose the other up to his own.  
  
"No! Phong, let me do it!"  
  
"Enzo, I--"  
  
"Come on! I've got energy to spare!"  
  
Phong sighed. "very well." Phong attached the other cable to Enzo's upper arm, then flicked the switch that activated the machine.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Alarmed, Phong flicked the switch again. Still nothing.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"This must be damaged as well!"  
  
"So what do we do?!"  
  
"There....there is nothing more we CAN do, my child."  
  
Enzo turned to the meter on the wall that monitored Bob's energy readings. The beeps were growing steadily further apart.  
  
"But...we can't just let him...."  
  
The individual beeps stopped, becoming a single, inbroken tone.  
  
"N...no....,"  
  
Enzo screwed his eyes closed, trying to keep tears from falling, trying not to hear the horrible, unending noise that meant....  
  
The tone broke once. Then again. Faster and faster, until the tones almost became on note again. Suddenly, the scanner shattered, emitting sparks and black smoke, unable to handle the enrgy it was being asked to monitor.  
  
"Phong...what's happening?"  
  
"I....do not know."  
  
Bob's chrome Glitch armor began to flow like mercury, silvery bubbles breaking off from it's surface and floating in the air around him. More and more split off, until there were approximately two dozen of them. The liquid metal spheres began to shrink, to change in size, color, and texture, until each one was shaped like a rectangle, circular screens glinting in the flourescent lighting.  
  
"The Keytools," Phong whispered. 'They have returned!"  
  
Acting as one, all of the keytools turned so that their screens were facing inward, facing Bob. A ray of golden-yellow energy shone from each screen, pouring energy into Bob's body.  
  
"They're trying to save him!" Enzo cried.  
  
The light ceased, and the keytools floated back from the Guardian. With a number of small, bright flashes, the symbiotic devices vanished through small portals of their own making, traveling through the Net to rejoin their Guardians.  
  
Bob stirred, sitting up, all the dirt and scratches he'd managed to gather gone from his shining silver armor.   
  
"Bob!" Enzo flew through the air, knocking the Guardian over with a fierce tackle.  
  
One Keytool remained, hovering by itself off to the side, as though watching this. Then, turning, it sped off through the air faster than the eye could follow.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
Clash flew through the air, slamming hard against the wall. As he slid to the ground, there was a bright blash of energy, and he split ito his component parts again. Hack, Slash, and Scuzzy lay on the ground, dazed, all of them down for the count.  
  
Megabyte turned back to Dot, who was now startig to look concerned.   
  
"Any more..surprises?" the Virus asked, raising his claws.  
  
"Oh, Mr. Megabyte!"  
  
Megabyte winced. There was only one voice that grated on his nerves quite like that one. He turned, and sure enough, there was Jareth, along with those friends of his.  
  
"Sorry we're late," Electra said. "Did we miss much?"  
  
The doors behind them opened again, and Matrix stormed in, Gun drawn.  
  
"You're late!" Jareth said accusingly.  
  
"Megabyte," Matrix growled, aiming at the Virus.  
  
"Yes, very good. That is, indeed, Megabyte," Electra said, switching to a smirk, as though talking to someone who was just compiled. "Now, what noise does the duck make?"  
  
Megabyte reached back and grabbed Dot, holding her tightly in one hand raising the claws of the other to her head. "Lower your weapons, or Ms. Matrix shall suffer a most unfortunate.... accident."  
  
Matrix growled, but holstered his Gun. Backslash lowered his Keytool.   
  
"See, now that wasn't so difficult. Now. You will all--"  
  
*Blam!*  
  
Megabyte jerked his hands away from Dot as a gunshot peirced his hand. The Virus' eyes went wide, not so much in pain as in surprise at the direction from which the gunshot had come.  
  
Dot backed away from the Virus towards her friends, her sidearm trained on his head.  
  
Her friends seemed just as surprised as Megabyte.  
  
"I didn't think you ever actually used that thing," Matrix said, impressed.  
  
"Did you think it was just for show, little brother?" Dot smiled grimly.  
  
"It's over, Megabyte," Kit said. "Surrender.  
  
Megabyte sighed. "Once again, the threadbare cliche." He examined his claws. "Tell me, do you really imagine you've won?"  
  
"Well, you don't seem to have a whole lot left," Jareth said.   
  
"Oh no? Perhaps you're simply not looking hard enough." Megabyte reared back, then spit forth a spray of acidic green liquid.  
  
A number of the Sprites cried out, clutching at their eyes as they were blinded by the stinging mist.  
  
"Crap," Jareth said, the glow gone from his green stained-glass eyes. "I forgot he could do that."  
  
Matrix clutched at his eye. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he looked forward, and, with his Bionic eye, saw the Virus approaching, claws extended.  
  
Racing forward, the renegade delivered a solid blow to the Virus' midsection, bloodying his knuckles against Megabyte's metal armor. Megabyte was surprised, but not actually injured.  
  
Retracting his claws, the Virus lifted Matrix up off the ground by the throat, just as he had done back when the renegade had been Little Enzo.  
  
"Your stubborn refusal to die is beginning to irritate me," he said. The Virus brought Matrix closer, so that their noses were almost touching. "Boy," he added.  
  
Raising the renegade as though he were a rag doll, Megabyte threw Matrix across the room, directly at Dot.   
  
As the effects of Megabyte's acid faded, Dot's vision cleared...just in time to see her brother flying at her very, very fast.   
  
The collision was brutal, and both sprites were down.  
  
Megabyte began to walk towards them, intent on finishing them off, but before he had taken two steps, he found that his feet had been frozen to the floor by a thick layer of solid ice. Turning, he spotted Electra, hovering in the air a short distance away in Hyde-mode, blades growing from every surface and blue light swirling around both outstretched arms.  
  
Megabyte flung his tendrils forward, wrapping them around her waist and throwing her against the wall. With a groan, she slid to the floor, her features softening, her horns and blades vanishing back into her body.  
  
Megabyte advanced on the fallen Virus, claws extended to their fullest.  
  
"Tech--Energy Ram!"   
  
A blast of light knocked the Virus aside, doing no real damage. Megabyte turned to dark-haired, blue-green skinned Guardian who'd attacked him.  
  
Backslash glared back at the hulking Virus, drawing the small rod from his belt and thumbing the switch on the side. A blade of solid energy shot forth from the end.  
  
"Ah, yes, I remember you now." Megabyte smiled. "That little toy of yours didn't work very well last time, now did it, Guardian?"  
  
Backslash raised his left arm into the air. "Tech--line!"  
  
The Keytool transformed into a grappling hook, shooting straight up into the network of pipes and cables that formed the cieling. The Guardian was instantly yanked up after it.  
  
There was a severing, sparking sound, and several thick, solid metal pipes rained down from the celing, crashing down onto Megabyte, who was quickly buried beneath them.  
  
Backslash hovered back down to the ground, using his Keytool as a helicoptor.  
  
"Seems to work fine now."  
  
"Does it really?" came a muffled voice from beneath the debris. The pile exploded as the Virus leapt out, landing on his feet.   
  
Backslash rushed forward with his lightsaber, slashing again and again at the Virus, the blade of energy glancing off his mettalic armor, leaving only glowing red areas where the metal was heated by the blade.  
  
After several of these slashes, Megabyte reached forward and simply caught the blade as it was swung at him.  
  
Backslash's eyes widened as Megabyte snatched the lightsaber from his hand, holding it by the energy blade that could supposedly cut through anything. Swinging the saber like a club, Megabyte bashed Backslash upside the head with the Lightsaber's handle, tossing the weapon aside as the Guardian fell to the ground.   
  
"Ahem," Megabyte said, kicking Backslash's limp body aside. "Next."  
  
"That would be me."  
  
Megabyte turned to see his brother, calmly leaning against the wall, spinning a crystal sphere on his finger.  
  
"Ah, yes. I suspected it would come down to the two of us. Or is it three?"  
  
"Does it matter?" Jareth asked, his mask an infuriating smirk.  
  
"I suppose not." Megabyte eyed the crystal that was glinting in the overhead lights. "So....this is how you choose to attack me? By throwing one of your little crystal bombs?" Megabyte crossed his arms as Jareth walked away from the wall and strode towards him. "Oh come now. Even you shouldn't be so foolish as to think that little thing can actually hurt me."  
  
"Well," Jareth said, tilting his head to the side. "Maybe not YOU..." Jareth switched to an even wider grin, looked over at the Gateway Command, then back to Megabyte.  
  
Megabyte's eyes went wide.   
  
Jareth nodded maliciously, tossing the crystal back over his shoulder. It rolled towards the command.  
  
"No!" Megabyte leapt over Jareth, landing between the rolling crystal and the Gateway. The crystal exploded, creating a huge cloud of fire and smoke.  
  
Jareth giggled as Megabyte strolled forth from the smog, glaring at him.   
  
"You nearly cost me my path to the Supercomputer, half-breed."  
  
"Wow. Been a while since you called me that."  
  
Megabyte lunged at the Viral Guardian, but found himself balked by a rectangle of golden light that appeared between them. The cobalt-blue Virus slashed furiously at the wall, but his claws had no effect whatsoever on the shield.  
  
Jareth yawned, pulling a file from his pocket and sanding away at his nails.   
  
"Donno about you, Megs, but I could do this all da-AAAY!" Jareth's taunt became a yell as his feet were yanked out from under him by the silver tentacles that had snaked their way around the wall of light. The shield vanished as Jareth lost his concentration.  
  
Jareth lay on the ground, winded by the impact. "Nice move," he groaned.  
  
Megabyte lifted Jareth up off the ground with his cables. "Why, thank you," he said, throwing the Viral Guardian into the wall.  
  
Megabyte turned towards the gateway....and was quite surprised to see a young female Guardian standing before him. Just standing there, between him and the command. Not even aiming her Keytool....ah, she didn't have one.  
  
"Oh, come now. What do you expect to do?"  
  
"Whatever I can."  
  
"Ah. That would be..." the Virus leaned in. "Nothing." Effortlessly, he knocked her aside.  
  
Chuckling, Megabyte turned and strode up to the Gateway Command, keying the appropriate codes and opening a portal directly to the Supercomputer.  
  
  
  
* * *   
  
Kit pulled herself to her feet, grateful for the protection given by her Guardian armor. Shaking her head, she looked up to Megabyte, just a few steps away from the Supercomputer.   
  
She rose to her feet, not sure what she was about to do, but knowing that now was the time to do it. She took a step forward, but before she could do anything else, a small object shot across the room, attaching itself to the silver bracer that adorned her left arm.  
  
"Clip?" she said, recogizing it as her Keytool.   
  
Clip let out a reassuring beep.  
  
Kit grinned, raising the Keytool and aiming it towards Megabyte. "Clip--Redirect!"  
  
The tiny Keytool let out a bleep, then fired a pulse of energy that shot over Megabyte's shoulder, striking the vertical liquid surface of the Gateway. The upright wall of water shifted, now showing not the crystal towers and streets of the Supercomputer, but rather the ravages of the Web.  
  
A large black tentacle reached through the gateway and prepared to seize Megabyte, but he made a single swipe with his claws and the limb fell to the ground, twitching. The Virus turned to Kit.  
  
"Foolish girl," he said angrily. "Did you really think I would fall for that childish trick again?"  
  
An object came flying at him from his left. Rather than let it strike him, he reached out and caught it. Opening his hand, he saw a small, mechanical rodent, it's mechanized legs working.  
  
"And now you think to attack me with toys?" He looked at the Sprite who had thrown the mouse. It was the same one who'd disabled the security pucks, the girl with the bizarre skin and white hair.  
  
"You. I owe you a--"  
  
The Sprite smiled at him, winking one of her ruby red eyes.  
  
He stopped and looked down at the object in his hand. It's tail appeared to be getting shorter, being drawn back into the body.  
  
Comprehension dawned on his face, but before he could act, the tail withdrew completely ito the body.  
  
The explosion lifted him off his feet, hurling him back through the open gateway into the very heart of the Web.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
Megabyte flew , tumbling end-over-end through the think, dense, invisible data. Regaining his equilibrium, he reached out with his tentacles, grabbing ahold of the small rocks and bits of debris that littered the space around him, determined to pull himself back to the portal before it closed, trapping him here.  
  
Closer and closer he approached, until he could see the room that lay beyond, could see the banks of control panels that operated the Gateway Command.   
  
A Blue-skinned Sprite clad in silver armor stepped into view.  
  
Megabyte's eyes widened as Bob smiled and waved....then slowly, deliberately brought his hand down and pressed a large red button.  
  
"No," Megabyte said.   
  
The portal vanished.  
  
"NO!"  
  
There were no Sprites, binomes, or viruses around to hear him, but his cry did not go unnoticed. A nearby pod of Webcreatures, out hunting, heard.   
  
Heard...and followed.  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
The night sky over Mainframe had always been one of Jareth's favorite sights. Usually, he observed it from one of the towers of the bridge that connected Mainframe to Lost Angles. Tonight, he was sitting on the large concrete block that formed the base of Hexadecimal's newly completed memorial statue, directly in front of the Principal Office. His back rested against her massive stone stilleto heel.  
  
"Hey."  
  
The Viral Guardian turned to see Electra floating in midair behind him.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Aren't you cold?"  
  
Jareth shook his head. "I'm wearing like twenty pounds of black leather." He eyed Electra's thin, sleeveless blue garment. "You?"  
  
"Ice is kinda my element," she responded.  
  
Jareth nodded. "Backie and Kit are going back to the Supercomputer tomorrow."  
  
"Yeah, I heard. They talked to Turbo. He said that they could stay for Christmas before reporting back."  
  
"I take it communications are back up, then?"  
  
"Yup," Electra said. "It turned out Megabyte was the one who'd disabled them in the first place. Who knows how. Guess he didn't want us calling for help."   
  
Jareth looked back up at the sky.  
  
"Whatcha thinking about?" Electra asked, tilting her golden head.  
  
"Everything. Nothing. Hex, mostly."  
  
"Gonna suck to have Christmas without her, huh?"  
  
"Yeah."   
  
There was a pause.  
  
"You think she'd like it?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the stars.  
  
"The statue?"  
  
Jareth nodded.   
  
"Dunno. She never cared much for stone, did she?"  
  
"She turned the entire System to stone once. Bob got her to turn it back by pointing out how predictable it was." He sighed. "I am really going to miss her."  
  
Electra foated down and sat on the pedestal next to him.  
  
"She really meant a lot to you, didn't she?"  
  
"Well, yeah. For a long time, she was all I had. You and Backie had gone to the Supercomputer, Kit had been deleted..."  
  
"And Dot?"  
  
"Dot was always so edgy around me....just like you were, at first. We couldn't really be friends anymore."  
  
"So it really was just you and Hex."  
  
"Yup."  
  
Another pause.  
  
"You know....it's not anymore." she placed her hand over his.  
  
"Yeah, I know...she's gone."  
  
"That wasn't what I meant."  
  
Jareth turned to her, a puzzled expression on his face. "No? Then what did you...?  
  
Electra switched to a smirk, looking at him expectantly. "You take your time."  
  
Jareth's mask was nuetral for a moment, before switching to a look of dawning comprehension. "Oh..."  
  
Electra giggled. "You take a while, featherhead," she said, leaning forward. "But you get there eventually."   
  
The two brought their ceramic lips together, touched briefly, then pulled apart.  
  
A moment passed.  
  
"That's it?" Electra asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "I dunno, I was expecting fireworks or something."  
  
"I'm not sure what I was expecting," Jareth admitted. "But it wasn't 'clink!'."  
  
Electra giggled again.  
  
Jareth prepared to say something, but was distracted by a far-off explosion. Turning, he saw a burst of multicolored fire in the sky above the docks. Fireworks were being set off by ships on the Energy Sea, celebrating both Christmas Eve and Megabyte's expulsion from Mainframe.  
  
"There ya go. Fireworks," he said. "They were just late." He turned back to Electra, whose golden face was reflecting the dazzling sparks in the sky.  
  
"Well....," she said, smiling as she gazed back into his glowing green eyes. "Better late than never."  
  
It began to snow.  
  
  
  
~THE END~ 


End file.
